The Victorian Age was lead by Queen Victoria herself who said, "God created men and women different- then let them remain each in their own position" (Web 3). Throughout this period of time in history many women and men alike were challenged to remain in their separate "spheres" of society. Many authors, including Charlotte Gilman, spoke out about the oppression on women during this time. Gilman's, The Yellow Wallpaper, uses a woman as a protagonist in order to illustrate how women were treated during the Victorian Age. By looking at the narrators view on women's societal role, her relationship with her husband, and her connection to the wallpaper, we can see the authors purpose in writing the text. Gilman writes to expose the frustrated mind of many women, which most readers of this time did not see; this is important because it reshapes society's opinion toward women during the early 19th century. 

Throughout the text, Gilman uses the narrators viewpoint of women's societal role in order to illustrate how women were expected to behave. In the text, the protagonist is a women who is wrestling with depression. During her sickness, the narrator exposes her weaknesses where she feels like she is failing. "[She] meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort] "(Gilman 301). Like many women during this time period, she felt alone, without "advice [or] companionship," (Gilman 302). During this time women were expected to be "private, and submissive" and this left Gilman's narrator feeling alone and empty (Web 4). She would compare herself to John's sister, who she describes as being a "perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper" (Gilman 303). After all, this is what women were created to be, right? Throughout Gilman's text she exposes the mind of her narrator when society has begun to take weight on her. She is feeling alone and suffering, like many women of this time, but Gilman uses this text to speak out on behalf of many. 

Gilman's narrator turns her thoughts into words and her action of putting words on paper, despite the opinion of her husband,  is what is so substantial at this time. Women were viewed as "weak" individuals who were to be "dependant" on their husbands, but the protagonist challenges this stereotypical behavior when she rebels against John's request and hides herself while writing (Web 4). John "hates me write a word," but she continued to record her feelings because she knew many women during this time had the same weaknesses (Gilman 301). As sources state, "literature is not the business of a woman's life" (Web 4). Rather than being John's "loyal helpmeet," she chose to act out against the norms of society and expose her hurt through writing (Web 3). Throughout her depression she had to have some way to channel her feelings, because likewise with most of society, "John [didn't] know how much [she] really suffered" (Gilman 301). Throughout this text, Gilman uses this relationship between John and the narrator to expose not only how it left the female mind feeling, but also to illustrate the relationship that much of society held with women. 

Beyond physical restrictions that women of this time period faced, they also faced emotional distress to the point of "unhealthiness" (Web 1). " Many women were driven to illness by the lifestyle thrust upon them in the form of oppression and societal expectations" (Web 2). In the case of the protagonist in The Yellow Wallpaper, this illness was evident. The protagonist faced extreme depression, almost to the point of insanity. Her bizarre connection to the yellow wallpaper was the physical illustration of what is going on her mind. The yellow wallpaper in the text illustrates a women behind bars, which for the case of the text, could better be understood as the restrictions placed on women by society during this time. The narrator said, "it sticks horribly," and just as the wallpaper clung to the wall, the oppression towards women stuck for decades (Gilman 311). Gilman exposes the frustrations within the mind of a female through the wallpaper, "the woman behind shakes it," this is an indirect action that evokes emotions within the audience, because they are compelled to connect to the female behind bars of oppression (Gilman 309). Through the graphic ripping down of the wallpaper by the protagonist it is transformational in her mind, as she is deciding to rebel against societal norms toward women. It is pivotal point in the text when the narrator says, "I've got out at last, ""so you can't put me back," because this was symbolizing the physical breakdown of the narrator mentally due to oppression from society(Gilman 312). 

Despite the oppression from society Gilman knew she would face when writing The Yellow Wallpaper, like many other well known authors, such as Emily Dickinson and Kate Choplin, she wrote to expose. Charlotte Gilman used this text in order to show how the pressures from society were affecting women. Women were "pigeon-holed into certain tasks and affairs" during this time period and it physically had a toll on them(Web 1). The narrators societal view towards women is important when considering the purpose of the text because she felt as if she fell short of all she was supposed to be a wife and a mother, to the point she felt as if she was a "burden" (Gilman 301). Beyond the feeling of being a burden contributing to mental unhealthiness, she also had an unhealthy marriage, like most women of this time. Although "John had good intentions, so did most men and husbands in the country" (Web 1). He  "hardly let [her]stir without direction" and this controlling relationship left many women feeling like they were locked in bondage(Gilman 300). The domestication and feelings of weakness started to drown the narrator of this text in extreme depression and her mind began to become obsessed with the wallpaper, which was a vivid description of what she was mentally going through. Gilman uses this text to inform the audience of how history was affecting women. Queen Victoria's claim for men and women to remain in "different positions" was potentially the end of sanity as women knew it at the time and it continues to affect our society today (Web 4). 
