Women’s rights were becoming an issue throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States. By 1892, women were becoming part of the workforce as they were influenced by the Industrial Revolution (Moss, n.p.). Despite women entering the workforce and being more included in society, they were still treated as inferiors by men. This can be seen in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” By the way the author displays the relationship between the husband and wife and the way women are spoken to in the text, the idea of women being the inferior gender in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States is shown by the use of diction and condescending language. 

One example of the relationship informing the reader on how life was for women during this time is in the way the other characters refer to the narrator as if she is a child. During the short story by Gilman, the narrator repetitively questions her husband’s actions and notes to the audience that since “John says” to do something, she will do it, implying how women accepted men as the superior. An important example of how the narrator is treated as a child is when she is placed in a room where children stayed and states, “she would hate herself if she had to live in this room long” (Gilman 301). The author uses the condition of the narrator being in a room on lockdown as an advantage to educate the reader about the issue of women being treated poorly, especially as if they were children. At the time that this piece was written in the late 1800s, women could not vote, own their own property as single women, and often faced limits on their education when compared to men (Moss n.p.). This idea of the relationship between the wife and the husband is brought up again when the narrator asks if John “would take her away from there” (Gilman 305). The idea of the narrator’s husband being relied on to make decisions exemplifies to the audience the dependence of narrator on her husband, much like a child depends on its parents.

Also, the dialogue used by the narrator’s sister-in-law in the text shows women as the inferior gender by displaying a sense of complacency, fulfilling what was taught to them by society. In "The Yellow Wallpaper and Women's Discourse,” Karen Ford explains how women were being assigned specific roles in society based on their gender in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This ideology is brought up by the narrator’s sister-in-law with regard to how she was raised. In Gilman’s text, the narrator explains how her husband’s sister is a housekeeper that is always “enthusiastic” about her job and that she never wanted another. Additionally, the narrator explains how she believes that her husband’s sister thinks that she got sick from writing (Gilman 303). This shows a woman’s perception of her own submissiveness, as she repeats a concept created by men. Furthermore, Gilman uses her work to challenge the ideology of women only being able to work at home. Gilman believes that the only way a woman can live a full life is if she is being offered a vast range of choices and opportunities (Moss n.p.). In the text, the narrator states how it is “hard to talk to John” because she believes “he is so wise” (Gilman 305). The idea of the narrator not being able to share her opinion because her husband is too wise and her ideas are not important to him show the reader that women are being taught or shown that they are inferior and not as intellectual as men. An example of this in society is shown through the actions of the narrator’s sister-in-law from the text when she says the narrator is wise not to question men. Gilman is able to show through the way the husband and wife interact that society at that time was restricting women from being limitless.

The relationship of husband and wife within the text shows women as inferior as they are being treated as children and hold only limited power in society which leads to the issue of women’s health at this time. Starting from the beginning when the wife is placed in a house because of her health, the audience gets a glimpse that, in society, women’s health is based solely on their gender. In the text, the narrator believes she is sick, but because her husband does not agree, and her husband is “right” regardless, she is placed on the “Rest Cure.” She then asks “what can one do?” (Gilman 299). This specific question reflects how society viewed women at the time of the text’s publication. This brings up the idea of “The Rest Cure,” which was a theory by Dr. Silas Mitchell that called for women to be isolated form society in order for their sickness to go away (Moss). This idea of women being isolated is specifically challenged by Gilman. The author shows how isolation can make an illness worse and can cause psychological problems such as mental illness on top of the past illness they were diagnosed with. Gilman is able to give an understanding of the true happenings in society during the text’s publication. The careless way the husband treats the wife’s health reflects the state of women’s healthcare at this time.

Gilman, through the relationship of the husband and wife in the text, is able to bring up the idea of the Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The text presents the narrator in a way that shows that women at that time weren’t capable of being independent and weren’t able to be a mother and a professional in society simultaneously (Moss). The narrator continually states that “John is a Physician” and knows best, which supports the cultural idea that men are superior and women can’t become professionals themselves (Gilman 299). The Darwin Theory of Evolution is all about people becoming better, and in Gilman’s text she presents how women weren’t able to advance, which contradicted the idea of Darwinism.    

Gilman is able to portray how women are seen as the inferior gender in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States by the way the she displays the relationship between husband and wife and the way women are being spoken to in the text. The text portrays women being treated like children, and this is exemplified when the narrator doesn’t seem to have an important enough opinion worthy of being said.  In the story, gender roles are explored regarding a woman’s professional capacity in society; this is shown specifically when the narrator’s sister-in-law doesn’t aspire to be anything more than a housekeeper. This leads to the impact on the idea of women being identified by their gender, not their capabilities. The issue of women’s health is also raised when the narrator continues to claim that she has a health issue, but because her husband is male and doesn’t agree, she is then given the “Rest Cure.” The idea of women’s health is also presented within the text that connects to the idea of Darwinism which was being introduced into society at the time. The relationship between the husband and wife has a specific outward effect on the cultural aspect of Darwinism. In the text it shows how the husband is keeping the wife at bay from advancing, which directly goes against the cultural idea of Darwinism in the late 1800s. Gilman, through her strong diction and condescending attitude displayed by the husband towards the wife, shows how women’s rights were being held stagnant, and ultimately influenced the rising of the women’s rights movement.
