No one gets to live through all of history's main events, but through research and cultural contexts everyone has the chance to learn about past events they have missed out on.  I came across the names of Judith Sargent Murray, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Margaret Fuller and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. All four of these women had the same goal in mind: to change society's views on women and to improve their equality with men (Scott, 9). Whether it be on the arguments of the history of mankind, women's economic independence, anti-slavery or the equal educational opportunity for the population of women, they all became successful.  From their speeches and writings these women and several other nineteenth century feminists helped change the laws and customs for centuries to come after their reigns (Scott, 8). A specific work from this time titled "The Yellow Wallpaper," written by Charlotte Perkins Gillman portrayed the significance of how men looked down upon women, treating them as a less than equal individual.  Originally when reading this story, it feels as if John, the narrator's husband, is just looking out for her while the narrator is just being stubborn towards his actions.  The history of the dominance men had over women and the way men demoralized women during the nineteenth century can help to better understand "The Yellow Wallpaper" significance.

A patriarchal social system can be defined as a system where men are in authority over women in all aspects of society.  Patriarchal domination is a term often used when talking about feminism of the nineteenth century (Haney-Peritz 97).  Patriarchal domination is represented in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by John, speaking to his own wife as if she were a child and not giving her a voice in their relationship. An example in the story is when the narrator says, "Then he took me in his arms and called ma a blessed little goose" (Gilman 211).  Another good example of male supremacy in the story is "I began, and stopped short, for he sat up straight and looked at me with such a stern, reproachful look that I could not say another word" (Gilman 215).  This quote represents the patriarchal domination the article was talking about because the narrator felt like she didn't even have a voice, she could not finish telling her own husband that she was better.  In 1892, according to The New York Times the reformatory for women began. It began with the examination of a separate prison bill, voted upon by all male congress and senate members, that stated if a woman got as little as a misdemeanor they could be submitted into the state penitentiary or an insane asylum (New York Times 1).  This statement of history relates to the story figuratively because it is almost as if John is keeping her in a prison, the estate, due to her misdemeanor, having a mental illness. John learned to believe he had the power to make his own wife live in an unfamiliar home as well as live in a room she didn't feel comfortable in.  An example of John belittling his wife and excluding her from the outside world is shown in this quote, "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction" (Gilman 210).  " ... Hardly lets me stir ... " depicts that even if the narrator wanted to do something unusual she would not get away with it due to John's strict restrictions for her and his ability to have control over her.   This quote stands out because even though it is towards the beginning of the story and before the reader finds out about the wallpaper, the demoralization towards the narrator is already started. 

The hidden demoralization of women in "The Yellow Wallpaper" can be seen as John being an overruling husband or the narrator being an ungrateful wife.  These articles help the reader to pick up on the demoralization of women that they skipped over during their first read and even teach how harsh sexism really was toward women and what women had to endure from men.  After reading both of these sources plus "The Yellow Wallpaper" people respond in the sense of being proud, proud of the history nineteenth- century feminists created.  An example of the demoralization of women from men in the "The Yellow Wallpaper," was the yellow wallpaper's significance in the narrator's life.  The wallpaper was an annoyance in her life as shown in these quotes, "I never saw worse paper in my life" and " ...  but afterwards he said that I was letting it get the better or me, and that nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies" and even though she stated her opinion out loud to John he still dismissed her (Gilman, 210). With less of the demoralization coming directly from men to women, seeing it in more modern forms is common.  In today's world there are still instances of demoralization like in "The Yellow Wallpaper" but now there are songs, television shows, movies etc. that do the same thing (Mac-Canty 157).  To better understand "The Yellow Wallpaper" one can find demoralization in objects such as the wallpaper, the house and mainly from her husband.

As the the world changes everyday, so does the topic of feminism and the way men demoralize women, in a positive way. In 2004, Colleen Mack-Canty wrote the article titled "Third-Wave Feminism and the Need to Reweave the Nature/Culture Duality."   This article discusses the third wave of feminism we are in today and the second wave of feminism that was occurring during the time period of "The Yellow Wallpaper".  The second wave of feminists challenged women's exclusion from the public world and their roles in politics and the economy. The first example of women's exclusion in the world in "The Yellow Wallpaper" is when the narrator is either left alone during the days and watched over during the nights, either way she is always excluded from the outside world (Mack-Canty 155). After research, I learned that the Greeks developed philosophy and politics in a dualistic framework (Mack-Canty 155).  They created men as representing culture and needing to have domination over natural processes, both of nonhuman nature and of human embodiment (Mack-Canty 156). Such as John controlling everything in the narrator's life, down to the schedule of when she takes her daily medicine.  As philosophers continued to promote men's domination in society over women, feminism really emerged (Mack-Canty 156).  Today's feminists begin with women's points of view while the second wave feminists had to focus on multiple oppressions as they intersected with sexism, such as the behaviors John displayed toward his wife. Examples of behaviors John displayed towards his wife in the story range from not allowing his wife to write in her journal, reading to her before she goes to bed, carrying her to her bed and not allowing her to have a voice in her own life (Gilman 216).  If it weren't for the feminist of the 19th century, the second wave, the third wave feminists would be having a much harder time arguing against male dominance.

After seeing how far the topic of women's inequality has changed to equality over the course of one century, everyone should be intrigued to live through the end of the third wave and into the beginning of a fourth, more complex wave that will hopefully be able to pursue the extinction of the demoralization of women. When the topics of the sexual politics of male domination, gender oppression and women's omission from the public world are grouped together they fall under feminism.  Through "The Yellow Wallpaper" and sources on the topic of nineteenth century feminism, a deeper understanding of Gilman's story and a greater appreciation toward those who put their lives on the line to support women appears.  While learning about the history and culture of "The Yellow Wallpaper", research can greatly help the reader to put new learned knowledge into context when reading this story and come out with the ability to pick up on the authors hidden demoralization of women. 

