The Yellow Wallpaper and A Doll’s House - 900 Words

In society, there has always been a gap between men and women. Women are generally expected to be homebodies, and seen as inferior to their husbands. The man is always correct, as he is more educated, and a woman must respect the man as they provide for the woman’s life. During the Victorian Era, women were very accommodating to fit the â€Å"house wife† stereotype. Women were to be a representation of love, purity and family; abandoning this stereotype would be seen as churlish living and a depredation of family status. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper and Henry Isben’s play A Dolls House depict women in the Victorian Era who were very much menial to their husbands. Nora Helmer, the protagonist in A Doll’s House†¦show more content†¦The women she sees within the paper are a projection of her own experiences of confinement, as it symbolizes all women in the early Victorian Era. Women in the early Victorian Era were very limited in their individualism as they were expected to conform to societal norms. The narrator craves freedom from the society she lives in, dreaming of having a room downstairs that opened on the piazza and [has] roses all over the window. (Gilman 3) The narrator wants nothing more than to be able to express herself, yet she is held back as she reveals that John would not hear of it. (Gilman 3) She knows her place is not to question her husband, so she finds other creative outlets that she keeps secret. She knows that these outlets of creativity are found, she risks her husband’s reputation as she would disrespect him. Throughout the narrative, the heroine acknowledges the importance of status in society. Even when her madness drives her to contemplate committing suicide, she says, â€Å"I wouldnt do it. Of course not. I know well enough that a step like that is improper and might be misconstrued.† (Gilman 15) Even in the mos t stressful times, it is the fear of ruining her husband’s reputation that keeps her from obtaining what she wants. Finally, the narrator breaks free of her confinement by tearing off the wallpaper, saying, Ive got out atShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between The Yellow Wallpaper And A Dolls House722 Words   |  3 PagesThroughout the madness displayed in â€Å"The Yellow wallpaper† and the disappearance of Nora at the end of â€Å"A doll’s house†, we could see both women are confined and controlled by their marriages, Nora from Henrik Ibsens play â€Å"A Dolls House† and the narrator from Charlotte Perkins Gilmans short story The Yellow Wallpaper portray the negative treatment of women throughout society during the 19th century. These women long for the activity and stimulation, which they have been deprived of as the productRead More Love in The Yellow Wallpaper, Hlls Like White Elephants, and A Dolls House1706 Words   |  7 PagesLove in The Yellow Wallpaper, Hlls Like White Elephants, and A Dolls House True love is the love that everyone fantasizes about. It is the love that is unconditional and everlasting. Love is very hard to define since everybodys concept of love is different. However, in order to achieve a good relationship, people must have a well balanced power structure in their relationship, and good understanding and communication between them. In the stories, The Yellow Wallpaper,; Hills Like WhiteRead MoreA Comparison Of The Yellow Wallpaper And The Yellow Wallpaper1225 Words   |  5 Pages One similarity between the two works is the that we are limited on where we get our information. Gilman’s short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† we see everything through the eyes of the narrator. The entire story is told from her secret diary when she has the time to write as shown in the line, â€Å"I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal-having to be so sly about it† (Gilman 527). Due to this, we can only make assumptions based on the information we get from her.Read MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper And A Doll s House1793 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Anna Gilman and â€Å"A Doll’s House† by Henrik Ibsen were both written in the nineteenth century. These stories were written in a time when women were under the male dominance. The story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and the play â€Å"A Doll’s House†, have similarities both portraying women who are in search of their identity and freedom while struggling emotionally. Both of these stories share feminist characteristics and belong to the same time period when women were consideredRead MoreEssay on Womens Roles in Society2664 Words   |  11 Pageshousework, and pretty much taking care of their husbands. â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† by Kate Chopin,† A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen, and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Gilman are all literature pieces talking about the roles women have in society. In â€Å"The story of an Hour, the main character is not happy in her marriage, and she finds out that her husband got killed, and she felt very free. In A Doll’s House, the main character is not happy with her marriage, because she feels that she is being treatedRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll s House 1606 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen biased for there treatment towards women. They are accepted to keep people happy and satisfied around them, no matter what the woman herself feels. She has to look happy, and her real emotions are zipped and concealed. Henrik Ibsen’s play â€Å"A Doll’s House† is about a woman’s shift from husband’s oppression to freedom; a freedom from the prescribed role by the society. Initially it looks like Nora is living a happy married life with her husband Torvald, but as the story moves we get to know aboutRead MoreJane Austens Novel Sense and Sensibility: An Analysis1492 Words   |  6 Pagessocially, economically, and politically oppressed because they cannot envision or enact suitable independent alternatives. Like the female protagonist in Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper, Marianne drives herself insane to the point of being physically ill. However, the protagonist in The Yellow Wallpaper seems symbolically fed up with her husbands patronizing and paternalistic attitude towards her. In Sense and Sensibility, Marianne never locks herself up and away from patriarchy.Read MoreAnalysis Of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?977 Words   |  4 PagesHenrik Ibsen’s A Dolls House (1879) and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† (1892) both demonstrate women being trapped by men in a patriarchal society in the nineteenth century. However, Joyce Carol Oates’ â€Å"Where are you going, where have you been?†(1974), Jamaica Kincaid’s short story â€Å"Girl† (1978) and Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis (2005) are about social norms and girls being sexualized at a young age in the 20th century. In A Dolls House, Torvald has a very narrowRead MoreFeminism in Novel Makaan of Paigham Afaqui1301 Words   |  6 Pagesinstance, Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian author and playwright, often focused on women, womens issues, their troubles faced by society, and the decisions they made based on their personal values and beliefs. If you take a look at the play called A Dolls House, by this very same author, you will clearly notice the strength and character of the protagonist. Not all, but some pieces of feminist literature (particularly non-fiction) showcase and stress on womens suffrage and a demand for equality inRead MoreIbsen and Wildes Female Protagonists1887 Words   |  8 Pagesand mainly the women, to act in specific ways, particularly to be faithful and adhere to their duties, and the bulk of dramas aired in the Victorian era complimented this. So much so that Ibsen was told to re-write the ending of his play, as â€Å"A Doll’s House† was so shocking that it was deemed unfit for society, for its content of a hidden past of a middle class woman shown in this play by Nora, particularly at the ending as she leaves the institution of marriage. â€Å"A Woman of No Importance† was also