The stories a “Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both talk about the daily challenges the two women have to endure on a day to day basis. In the stories, both women deal with trying to receive constant approval and satisfaction from the men who in that time period controlled their every move. In A Rose for Emily, it shows a woman who is suffering from depression and pressure to maintain her traditions, and expectations of the townsfolk. In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, it shows a woman who is dealing with a mental disease as well as loneliness and depression. Both of these stories show what women of the time period were supposed to act during this time period. The women in “A Rose for Emily” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”, are having to be conformed to the traditions and expectations of their time period which leads to their death. The stories resemble uncontrollable challenges that eventually lead the women both to their demise.

With the abolition of slavery, many of the aristocrats fell financially which caused a change in the accustomed traditional roles and social lines. Faulkner understood the social and elite attitude and the opportunities that a certain status allowed in the Deep South. The rules and expectations did not apply to Emily because of the social status she held allowed her to continue to live without regards to rules or laws from the town. 

Unlike Faulkner, Gilman deals and expresses her opinion in a different way. Women in “The Yellow Wallpaper” we’re being oppressed by the men of the time period. Both of the women in “A Rose for Emily,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” were confined and limited by the way they could live their lives. They were both secluded during this time, Emily became a recluse and locking herself away in the “deprecated house” as well as the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” being forced to remain confined in a bedroom with bars for windows. In Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” the woman suffers from postpartum depression. The woman’s husband is a medical doctor and wants to “fix” her sickness. In order to “fix” her, he believes he needs to contain her in a secluded area therefore wants to take her somewhere where she can get away from the world. The narrator even takes medications prescribed by him that she has no idea what she is taking, “So I take phosphates, or phosphates--whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to 'work' until I am well again" (Gilman 1598). She is forced to take the medication for her disease that was diagnosed by John to cure something that he himself diagnosed. He controls her every move, what to take, when to take it, what she needs to do and how to even prevent nervousness. 

The women were both imprisoned by the social and traditional expectations of a woman despite their different time periods. Women were supposed to act and have certain manners throughout both eras in “The Yellow Wallpaper” the time period was the nineteenth century where women had to be covered, due to the Victorian Age. A woman who was married had to be protected by her husband, therefore women having to cover their heads with a colored cloth hiding their face. The women had no legal control or say in the marriage. Women were submissive and it was even allowed for the husband to take everything she had from her if she did not obey. There are similar traditions in Faulkner “A Rose for Emily,” just not as drastic. In “A Rose for Emily,” her story is told by a townsperson who refers to himself and the town as “we.” From the context of the story, it appears this townsperson was part of the older generation, and is respectful of Emily and her historically elite social standing in the town. Women were allowed to work instead of staying at home, but this idea was frowned upon because of the gender stereotypes. Men were strong and smart and it was their duty to “bring home the bacon,” unlike women who had the duty of cooking and cleaning and waiting to tend to the husbands every need. 

Throughout both of the stories the readers realize that the social expectations and gender stereotypes are what are creating the women to meet their demise. What most readers do not realize is during the entirety of both stories neither of the women had their own “lives” or say in anything. For instance, Emily has never been able to be with a man she actually has wanted to date. Her father never found any of the men to live up to his high class standards. When her father passes away she still has the same expectations from the local townspeople. From the context of the story it is clear that the townspeople are an older generation, and are respectful of Emily and her historically elite social standing in the town. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator is also limiting the woman in the story to have her own voice. Instead, the woman has to be locked away just so she does not ruin her husband’s reputation. It seems like the husband himself wants to hid the fact that his wife has gone mad because of the expectations he has for her. Both of the stories “A Rose for Emily,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” shows in reality what can happen when you take away one’s self and force them to be someone they are not. I have come to realize that without Emily’s fathers pressure to find the perfect boy and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, causing the woman’s husband to be so controlling that both of the women would have not turned out to be a murderer or a psychopath.

         