Social Oppression In "the Yellow Wall-Paper"

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The history of Western civilization, throughout 19th-20th centuries, can be thought of as the continuous process of people, associated with this civilization, growing increasingly aware of patriarchal morality notions’ out-datedness. Whereas; by the beginning of 20th century, it was considered perfectly appropriate for women to be strictly concerned with taking care of purely domestic matters, while simultaneously providing their husbands with an opportunity to have a sexual relief - by the end of the same century, the patriarchal view of women as ‘natural born housewives’ and the objects of men’s sexual desire, had lost the remains of its former validity. However, such a dramatic progress would not be achieved without intellectually advanced women actively contributing to the process Western societies becoming increasingly secularized and less male-chauvinistic. Therefore, it will not be much of an exaggeration to say that the short story The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, provides us with the actual insight onto technical subtleties of women’s intellectual awakening in late 19th century’s America. Gilman’s story begins with narrator telling readers about the way, in which her supposedly highly educated husband John (a physician) had decided to treat his wife’s mild depression. After having realized that something needed to be done, in order to improve his wife’s mental state, John could not come up with anything better but suggesting that there was only one effective way for the narrator to address her mental anxieties – indulging in bellyful idling, while remaining intellectually inactive for the duration of a ‘treatment’: “I take phosphates or phosphites - whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to "work" until I am well again” (1470). Despite the fact that author initially tried to express

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