
The short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was written during a time of great change.  Women in the early to mid-nineteen hundreds were trapped in a time period where they were not allotted much freedom of any sort.  At this time, it was suggested by society that a woman’s place was in the home where they were viewed to be the moral leaders of their families. After reading historic and cultural information of this time period a reader is able to understand the actions of the female character in Gilman’s story.  The woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was suffering from issues similar to many women of this time of domestic ideology such as having no real freedom, feeling trapped, and being completely submissive to their husbands. 

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, women had no real freedom(s).  As a consequence, they were completely and solely reliant on their husbands.  Women of this day in time were not yet allowed to vote, run for any type of elective office, nor serve on a jury.  Their daily lives consisted of taking care of their husbands, homes, and children.  Women rarely were able to do anything for themselves that made them happy personally; unfortunately, in these times, their lives revolved around their husbands.  Additionally, women weren’t given much freedom when it came to marriage.  Women were frowned upon if not married; on the contrary, if the woman was married, she would be completely reliant on and submissive to her husband, being able to make few to zero decisions on her own unfortunately.  In the article, “Women in the 1900s,” Margo Anderson states, “In 1900, 85% of women over the age of 25 in the U.S. were married or widowed” (1).  These extremely high statistics show just how common it was for a young woman of this time to be married.  The situation was so extremely unfair that an article from the website entitled Web Clark states, “A husband needed only to show evidence of his wife's adultery to obtain a divorce, her property, and custody of their children.”  This statistic shows just how much of an advantage males had over females at this time.  Being married during this time also meant that a woman’s identity was that of her husband completely.  Because women had no freedom(s) during this time, many felt trapped and confined resulting in a feeling of helplessness. 

The woman in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” was unfortunately extremely similar to the feelings of many women who lived in this time. She felt utterly distressed because of the terrible feelings of being trapped and secluded from the rest of the world. Although the lady in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was realistically locked in a room and told she could do absolutely nothing, the mental state of the women during this time period was the exact same. These women shared the same fearful, depressed feeling of being locked away, trapped, isolated, and alone. The woman in Gilman’s book is even told she is unable to write, which was her only outlet of normalcy. Gilman States, “There comes John’s sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me! I must not let her find me writing.” (303). Although she still does so secretly and hides her journal, it is still extremely heartbreaking that this freedom is taken and she is expected to do as her husband and the society of this time period believes she should.  It was not that the men of this time were necessary cruel; however, this was  just simply the culture and ways of the time period.  Thankfully, today these previously noted legal dependencies for women of this time have disappeared. Women today no longer feel trapped like they are at the mercy of their husbands.

The women in this time period not only lost freedoms and felt trapped in their own homes, but also these women felt as if they had to be completely submissive to their husbands.  The average woman of this time felt pressured to be this way or else their husbands may induce sadder consequences.  Most women probably felt as if their life had no sole purpose and that every single day was the same, simple routine with no feeling that they could enjoy hobbies of their choice.  A similar situation is discussed in Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper.”  The young woman in the book is completely alone in a huge house in the middle of nowhere.  She is locked in a room by her controlling and demanding husband who insists she needs to stay in her bed and rest because of her “condition.” When the lady asks her husband to take her away, he replies, “Of course if you were in any danger, I could and would, but you really are better, dear, whether you can see it or not. I am a doctor, dear, and I know.” (306). Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written during the late 1800’s where women were, as stated above, completely and solely reliant on their husbands for all of their needs.  The woman in the book was suffering from the same issues that real women of this time period were suffering from as well, such as feeling alone and feeling as if they were not doing anything to better themselves or the world. These women were completely and entirely controlled by their husbands, having no real freedom whatsoever.  They were forced to do whatever their husbands asked of them whether it be, like in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, to sit in a room and do absolutely nothing, or to slave in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning like most women of this day in time were expected to do.  The journal “Women in the 1900’s” portrays women just like the woman in the “The Yellow Wallpaper” and describes what she is going through.  The struggle for women to achieve political, economic, and social equality to that of men was challenging to say the least.  The feeling of submission to their husbands in turn made them extremely depressed and altered their mental state just as the woman of “The Yellow Wallpaper”. So much so that the woman believed that the woman whom she was seeing the wallpaper was herself. The woman felt a sense of freedom when she tore the wallpaper down, because she felt she was releasing herself. Gilman writes, “I’ve got out at last,” said I “in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper so you can put me back!” (312). This line is where readers notice that the woman has officially gone insane, thinking that she is finally free because she tore the wallpaper down and let the woman inside go. Just like the depressed and helpless woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” became completely disillusioned and mentally insane, many women of this time suffered the same way.  The woman in the book saw a woman in the wallpaper, in which she thought to be alive each night shaking bars on the windows and creeping around to escape the scene.  This hallucination proves how extremely horrific the conditions she was living in had become and how she felt like she must immediately escape.         

In conclusion, throughout history, women have been treated poorly and unfairly under some of the worst of circumstances.  “American women were seen as feeble creatures who became invalids” stated in the Web Clark article.  Lots of these problems were brought to the attention of the world in the 1900’s.  Females protested for women’s rights under the harshest conditions.  At this time, no one payed attention to the opinions of women, nor their outlooks on the world.  Men viewed women as inferior and expected them to wait on them for their every desire and need.  Women persevered through some of the roughest conditions.  They showed the world in the 1900s that they wanted equal treatment and were willing to push the limits to achieve this most challenging goal.  The women got to a point where they downright refused to be stopped or let anything come in between them and the end result.  These women knew what they deserved, and at any cost possible desperately desired to achieve this seemingly impossible goal.  The women’s rights movement was vital during this time period.  The world and culture was all of the sudden changing, including the treatment of women.  The struggle for social equality was now shifting so that women could somewhat now have a voice.  Society was beginning to realize that gender does not determine a person’s intelligence, nor what he/she does throughout life. Today, it is quite evident that the trials women went through were very well worth it because of the opportunities and privileges that they now have earned.  Without the hard work and dedication of these women, our world would not be as it is today. 
