Gender roles in the 19^th century and their implications

One major goal of feminist literature is to help determine the kind of voice that women have in the society that has over the years been dominated by the men. Women have always been viewed to be unimportant as compared to the men and this is one reason why the world in most case is always presented in the male point of view. Both Chopin and Gilman’s try to illustrate the plight of women in the society through their works where they present their characters as female protagonists that are victims of the male dominated society. This is a society where the freedom of women is limited because of the traditional gender roles; women are expected to be bow to their husbands while taking care of their homes. Women just like men have their needs and they need to be given a chance to have a life outside their normal housewife roles, women need to find their own identities in order for them to feel contented with life.

The authors’ relations to the themes in their works

Both the stories are partly based on the past experiences of the authors who use the stories to tell the plight of many women that were unsatisfied with their role in the society during this era. Gilman brilliantly constructs the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ to convey the psychological downfall of women during that time. The short story is partly based on Gilman’s life and the problems that she faced throughout her life including mental breakdown. Though there were few women that were content with their roles during this time, many of them like Gilman faced the attributes of suppressed feelings that led to the major concerns for instance the control on women and mental health issues for the women. Chopin in ‘A pair of Silk Stockings’ maintains a predominant theme of woman’s conformism, sexuality and protagonists in marriage just like is the same with Gilman. Being a widow and taking care of young children, Chopin greatly swayed her writing on women in the society and she acted as the power of speech of many women during that era whose voices were silenced. Chopin through the themes of her works was not ready to allow her life to be meaningless, she showed the world that she could be a mother and at the same time have a career something that greatly motivated many women during this era.

Impacts of male domination on women in the 19^th century

Both ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘A pair of Silk Stockings’ were written in the late 19^th century, a time when the men dominated the society and the women had to do what the men required from them and that is taking care of the home and the children (Bittel, p. 109). The 19^th century was a time when female writers like Gilman and Chopin were struggling to tap into the emerging feminist consciousness among the women with America. Women during this time were beginning to realize their place in the society and they were getting fed up of having no identity outside of their marriage and motherhood roles. When the industrialization period began, the role of women in the society was beginning to shift. Women were starting to realize that they can be more than just homemakers (Bittel, p. 114).

The husbands control over their wives is illustrated in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ where the protagonist suffering from a mental illness is forced to stay in a closed room with her husband diagnosis of her ailment as just temporary (Gilman, p. 8). The protagonist insists that she has a more serious ailment but she has no power to do anything about her own ailment because the society has rendered the men to be the decision makers.  The diagnosis by John serves as a restraint on the behaviour of the protagonist, this diagnosis that is backed by her brother helps to name the reality and considerable power that the men have over the women during this time. The diagnosis is an allegory for a man’s will being forced upon the women unwillingly and unfairly.

The protagonist feel trapped in her life and because she is not permitted to speak to her husband she discloses her thoughts to her journal that she keeps in hiding because her husband do not like the idea of her writing. The protagonists is not allowed to speak or even think about her illness by John her husband which is just another illustration of the male dominance in the society during this era (Gilman, p. 26). The narrator is a powerless woman that cannot even control her own ailment and science in this case is used to define the condition of the woman. This is a reflection of the society in the late 1800s where matters of science and medicine were only controlled by the men, because were not viewed to be as intelligent. ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ helps to show the way that women in this period were controlled by the image of women being destitute and the supposition that men understand what is in the long run best for them. John in this case does not give the narrator the chance to control her treatment, a good illustration of this is when she complained and suggested that the wall paper be detached because it does not make her comfortable.  John in this case refused without considering her argument illustrating that she was just assuming it (Gilman, p. 32). In this case the wallpaper sources the narrator discomfort but the male power figure who is  John has the ultimate say and the wallpaper could not be removed because he said so.

Role of motherhood effects on women in the 19^th century

All through history, there has been a presentation of women getting subjected to specific gender roles of motherhood and the concept of housewife (Bittel, p. 115). But women have over the years challenged these roles from the likes of Susan Anthony who campaigned for the voices of women to vote all the way to Oprah who challenged these roles to show that women can be just as great and even better business women in the world. Chopin through her story has given a voice of hope and courage to think outside of the normal female gender roles. In her story ‘A pair of Silk Stockings’, she uses metaphors to indicate how women often fight to struggle to do their role as mothers and wives but also desire to have their own time. Mrs. Sommers after having the role of a mother needed some alone time where she could feel some lightness of freedom. Though she is at the beginning of the story brought out as a woman that deeply cares for her children, she is also shown to want some life for herself (Chopin, p. 55).

The concept of men looking down on women during this period made them feel like they needed to have more responsibilities as well and this also made them want to enjoy their wants selfishly. When Mrs. Sommers receives the fifteen dollars, she is eager to please her children and also satisfy her own needs (Chopin, p. 55). She is brought out as a character that has repressed needs and wishes that later on take control of her and shrink reasons and leads her to surrender to the pleasure of pleasing herself.  When she if first presented in the story, she is an organized lady that who never acts on impulse and she never thinks of anything beyond her immediate life as a mother and a martyr. She often sacrifices herself to the mere extent of depriving herself of the minimum amount of necessary nutrition and of any time that is dedicated to her personal needs. Because all requirements that would help preserve her fit and gratified are overlooked on a daily basis, she enters a state of disinterest from her own body and actuality which then leads to this unconscious behaviour that is no longer determined by any enthusiasm other than the safeguarding of her children’s comfort (Chopin, p. 56)

The inner delicacy and expensive tastes that Mrs. Sommers displays during her shopping is an illustration and proof of the fact that she was not completely settled into the impoverished widow life style that she had been imposed on by her unfortunate circumstances (Chopin, p. 57). In the course of her escaping the needs and wants of her family, Mrs. Sommers was able to achieve self-discovery and was able to reiterate the ease of her former life and this is illustrated when she acquires two magazines that she used to read before she got married (Chopin, p. 57). The short story illustrates the burdens of motherhood for women that deprive them of their true identities. Women in this era as presented by Mrs. Sommers were deprived of the luxuries and their rights to be individuals rather than objects and subjects that are just dedicated to the needs and wishes of other people.

Conclusion

Both the protagonists in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘A pair of Silk Stockings’ rebel against the constraints that are imposed on women by means of social institutions such as marriage. In the end of the short stories all the characters are brought out as women that have understood their roles outside their homes and they all feel like they have been released from their captive lives. The protagonists in both these texts are white, urban middle class women who have become isolated from the politics of choice and they all feel trapped within the household sphere and male dominated society. The two short stories help to address the few feminist issues that were particularly relevant at the need of the 19^th century. Many feminists during this period were focused on criticising the exclusion of divergent versions of female experience. The two texts help in offering a limited perspective on issues of women during this period and also portray the social status of the American women.

Works cited

Bittel, Carla. “Woman, Know Thyself: Producing and Using Phrenological Knowledge in

19th-Century America.” Centaurus, vol. 55, no. 2, May 2013, pp. 104–130. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/1600-0498.12015.

Chopin, Kate. A Pair of Silk Stockings and Other Stories. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications,

1996. Print.

Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wall Paper. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1899. Print.