In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” she tells the story of a woman in late nineteenth century America. The woman is living and dealing with depression. This depression takes over her body and mindset. Her husband is a well known physician and claims to know what he is talking about, but when she tells him that something is wrong with her, he claims that she just needs rest and solitude. This rest and solitude drives the narrator closer and closer to insanity until it finally consumes her. This is important because this story introduces and brings to light the problem of gender roles of nineteenth century America. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a very important piece that brings to light the many issues that people had during this time period. There was no respect between men and women, while at the same time, women did not have the same opportunity that men had during this time period. This story questions the gender roles, marriage relationships and makes one question the wage gap in both this time period and modern-day America.

In addition to bringing light to gender issues throughout this story, it simultaneously brings up the issue of gender roles and problems throughout the late eighteen hundreds. Greta Lafleur, a women with connection to the University of Yale, composed an article to discuss the problem of gender roles and issues that plagued this time period. In her article, she shows that the gender roles of the time period considered all women of a status lower than men. Women had a less of a role in that society and did not get anywhere near the say-so that a man did in the household. Women, in general, did not have the opportunity to participate in the same things as men or did not have the same rights.  In this article, Lafleur shows how people of this time period show disgust towards men and women who did not comply with their gender roles. She shows that people did not accept these people and looked down upon them. The people did not care about their personality or the how intelligent any of these people were, they just cared about how they looked and acted in society. The people were not understanding nor were they compassionate to how these people acted. They thought that there should only be one gender standard for each gender and there should be only one way that a man and woman could live. This is important because it shows the gender standard of the time period and the mindset of the average American person then.

This article by Greta Lafleur and “The Yellow Wallpaper” both give the same conclusion of how oppression was put upon women of that time period and more of a modern touch. “The Yellow Wallpaper” was composed during the late nineteenth century and attempted to bring to light the effect that society was having on women specifically. Lafleur’s article shows the gender differences of the time and brings modern credit to this piece. The audience of the short story can tell the struggle that the narrator is having in “The Yellow Wallpaper” to get her point across to her husband. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” it states about the narrator's feelings, “I don’t like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! But John would not hear of it” (Gilman, 300). This shows that no matter what she wanted, her husband ultimately had the last say in every single part of their relationship. They did not compromise over anything and she did not get the final say, or any say, even. This was the problem with marriage during this time. The women had no say or any chance at all. The next thing that is shown is the fact that her husband makes the decision that nothing is wrong with her. It states in the beginning of the short story, “ If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do?” (Gilman, 300). She is telling her husband that something is wrong with her and that she needs help to get better and cure her depression. Instead, her husband makes the decision for her that nothing is wrong with her and she just needs rest. This is the prime example of what Gilman is trying to say, women need to get the same attention and respect that men do. Men and women should be on an equal playing field and especially under the circumstances of marriage. Women did not get the same respect as men in any situation, the government was against them and society as a whole looked down upon women. They were fighting an uphill battle, and Gilman’s story, brings to light and does a good job of showing such social injustice.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the husband of the narrator will not let her wife get out and work because he claims that it will hurt her chance of getting better. Also, this goes back to the respect that women did not get during this time period. They didn’t have the chance to go out, the husband just meant more in the relationship and got to make the decisions. This brings to question women working in that time period, but mainly it links to the problems that women face in modern day America. During that period of time, it was normal for many women to stay at home and take care of the family, which is a part of the gender roles that was noted earlier. It was a generality that the man worked and the women stayed at home with the family. In modern day America, this is not the case. Both men and women find themselves working full time jobs in order to provide for their own respective families. But there is a problem with this situation. Men make way more money than women do, even when working similar hours and having similar occupations. An article in the Washington Post states, “When women make just 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, it hurts families and it hurts our economy. Congress has had the opportunity to address this problem, but has chosen not to—specifically in refusing to advance and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act” (Washington Post, 1). This shows the modern-day problem that America is facing with its citizens. Men make one fifth more than the average woman does on a daily basis. That is insane when it is proven that women and men work similar hours with similar occupations. The wage gap is a powerful thing and it makes a lot people in this country feel very differently about each other. Sure it is a lot better than it was in the late nineteenth century, but this is still a very obvious problem that needs to be controlled and fixed in the United States of America to make sure and guarantee that its citizens get fair and equal treatment.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a very important short story for its time in American history and for the issues that it is presenting. The problems that it shows in the marriage of the narrator and her husband can be seen in both today’s setting and the setting that it was produced in. The problem that it presents of gender roles and the wage gap are both seen in modern-day America as well. Gilman does a wonderful job of being a gatekeeper and true American when she writes this short story. Without this short story, many people would not have been able to gather the strength to question or talk about the issues that it presents. This piece presents true issues that truly matter in life everywhere and especially America. It makes the audience question the sanity of the narrator but at the same time it shows the true uphill battle that she is facing with a husband that is the dominant force of the household and gives her no say or opinion on her own health. This piece is a true issue identifier and society owes Gilman the credit for presenting this work of change.
