Women have come incredibly far from the oppressed society of the early nineteenth century. During this time, women were looked at as weak, unequal, and not as mentally able as men. They were treated as such, often times being mocked by men, including their husbands. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper tells the story of a woman who has been diagnosed by her husband as being some kind of sick. It takes place in a time when women were not seen as equal by men or society. In 1892, when the story was written, women in the United States did not even have the right to vote yet. The way the woman’s husband reacts to her and her wishes exemplifies the way women were treated during this time. The story also portrays the way the woman seems to be completely okay with the way she is treated throughout the story, showing that women had never experienced better treatment, and thus didn’t expect anything more from the men in their lives. The unnamed woman in the story is showed to be very controlled by her husband and the other men in her life. The Yellow Wallpaper uses syntax to help readers better understand the historical culture of the oppression of women at the time this story was written.

Syntax is used throughout the story to depict a woman being talked down to by the men in her life. This type of syntax begins with her own thoughts from her doctor’s advice saying “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?” (300). This shows how even though the woman feels ill, she is looked at as if she is crazy and her opinion is not taken into consideration as the men overpower her. This also shows the high respect that John has for being a physician, so much so that this fact is revealed before it is even said that he is the woman’s husband (Ford, 310). The woman describes her husband, John, in a way that portrays the power play he has in their relationship, which is somewhat expected by her. The woman explains that “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (299) showing how she expects to be looked down upon by her husband. This shows that woman of this era did not see anything wrong with the unequal treatment they received in their own marriages. Furthermore, John tells the woman she is “absolutely forbidden to “work” until she is well again” (300). This shows how women during this time period were looked at as weak and not capable of making their own decisions without the help of a man. John also “rarely lets me stir without special direction” (300) portraying how men held an incredibly firm grip on the lives of the women around them and thought they needed step by step directions to be okay. It also shows how women were seen as needing instruction and guidance to live, and assumes that all women are helpless individuals. 

Surprisingly, the woman doesn’t seem to notice the oppressive way she is treated whatsoever. The woman states in the story that “I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already!” (301), portraying that she expects from herself to be only a helper to her husband, and nothing of true substance. The woman believes this to be her responsibility because she has never been told otherwise. During this time period, woman were looked at as the “home maker” and rarely held jobs other than maid or full time “housewife” (Oakley, 33). This led women to believe that they were only cut out for this kind of work, and could not amount to anything more, explaining the woman’s easygoing attitude towards the oppressive way her husband and other males treat her. The woman mentions wanting to see relatives, but this idea is quickly shut down by her husband saying “He would as soon put fireworks in my pillowcase as to let me have those stimulating people about now” (302). This is an instance where the woman’s opinion and wishes are shot down because it is not believed to be what is best for her by her male counterparts. During this time, this is the way things would be handled by husbands because they were thought to be the only one who knew what was best for their wives. It was almost as if they owned their wives and decided where they would be and when. This type of behavior was common for a long time in society, until much later than just the early nineteenth century. In fact, by the evidence found in Gilman’s story, it’s obvious that this mentality was nowhere near it’s end during this time period and wouldn’t be fully stopped until much later. 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story opened up a new conversation about the rights, or lack thereof, that women had during this time period. Gilman was one of the first women to publish a piece so blatantly against the so called “norms” people had come to associate women with. The Yellow Wallpaper is an accurate depiction of the life of a woman in the early nineteenth century, and is Gilman’s way of beginning the fight against the oppression of women. Gilman had many thoughts about the way women were treated during this time period, as she had been in a depressive state herself, so she knew firsthand the experience of being told what to do and what to say. This pushed her to writing The Yellow Wallpaper and allowed her to write her experiences through the character in the story. Her way of writing the dialogue throughout the story where it depicts the man as being more intelligent than the woman is not coincidentally done. This was done very deliberately to show readers more about the historical context of this time period. After reading Gilman’s story I am more intrigued to collect information about this time period and to learn about the struggles that women faced throughout it. This is exactly what Gilman wanted, for people to notice things from her writing and to take action. The dialogue in this story shows how the early nineteenth century woman was treated, and shows how far we have had to come through the past decade to get the respect we have now.
