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Cult of True Womanhood
Prior to the twentieth century, men assigned and defined women's roles. A woman was thought to be incapable of caring and making decisions for herself without a man to guide her. In the story, The Yellow Wallpaper, the author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, delineates the life of an intelligent, young woman who is a wife and mother. She assumes her role as the nurturing mother, yet is submissive and passive to the patriarchal head. The lady suffers from a psychiatric disease that makes her hallucinate, anxious, and depressed. The patriarchal head, John, is a physician and assumes full responsibility for his wife's care and diagnosis. The main character's older brother, whom is also a physician, makes a prognosis that concurs with John's, thus leaving her no choice but to subject herself to the torment of the yellow wallpaper room. The reader presumes that John is not a psychiatric doctor by the side comment the main character makes "John is a physician, and perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster."(p. 704) John's treatment for his wife's disorder is The Rest cure. The medical profession's godlike attitude in "The Yellow Wallpaper" demonstrates man's arrogance during this time period toward the strength and vitality of women. The Rest cure prescribed entails "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."(p. 705) The mental disorder in the lady's head is permitted to continue and manifest in its solitude. As a result of the wife's submissiveness and obedience to her husband's "Rest Cure", her disorder becomes increasingly worse. A psychiatric disorder left untreated will manifest and become deeper rooted within the victim's mind.
The Yellow Wallpaper reflects the idea of the Cult of True Womanhood, which binds women to the home and family. John "imprisoned" his wife in a house set in the countryside, miles from family, friends and society in general. Women of this time were constricted to the set parameters that men determined. When the mentally-distressed woman first arrives at her dwelling abode, she describes it as "The most beautiful place!"(p. 704) Through the narrator's description, we obtain an image of an almost prison-like building. Women were conditioned to accept the boundaries set by their husbands and remain in place, in the private sphere. The narrator is treated as a prisoner by her husband. "It is quite alone, standing well back from the road quite three miles from the village."(seclusion) "there are hedges and walls and gates that lock" (locked in) "and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people."(guard shacks)(p. 705). She is not allowed to sleep in the room that she wishes to because John must be by her side throughout the duration of the night, "He said there was only one window (in order to keep watch of the prisoner) and not room for two beds, and no near room for him if he took another."(p. 707) John even makes excuses that seem credible as to why his wife must stay in the nursery, "I was to have perfect rest and all the air I could get. So we took the nursery at the top of the house."(p.707) The "enforcer" believes that by restraining his wife and keeping her away from the public sphere she well improve physically and mentally.
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Women played the role of nurturer and housekeeper. Social stability was maintained by women who were dedicated to the welfare of home and family. The main character feels even more nervous and depressed because she is not able to fulfill her "duties" as mother and wife, "It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby"(p. 705). She feels worthless because she is not the one caring for her child. Men imposed the idea on women that they were emotional servants that must follow their guidelines and remain within the home. Those who stepped outside of the "home" sphere and into the "public" sphere where "they did not belong" were looked upon by society as outcasts. Women attempted to overthrow the traditional definition of women's roles but faced much confrontation. Just as the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman struggled to throw off the constraints of patriarchal society in order to be able to write, the main character feels pressured to hide her writing, "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, or else meet with heavy opposition"(p. 707). She conceals her writing in a desk drawer so that the housekeeper will not find the emotional journal entries she makes expressing the frustration and imprisonment she feels. It is against the incredible pressure exerted by men to retain control that women had to agitate.
John believes that his wife's recovery depends on her willingness to get well. He views her illness as a personal fault, she chooses to be exhausted and mentally drained at all times. "John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no REASON to suffer, and that satisfies him."(p. 708) The narrator shows how although she has a formed opinion (and probably successful idea for her treatment), she is still swayed by her husbands direction, I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus--but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad."(p. 706) The wife is submissive to her husband's word and actually believes his prognosis that it is not a mental disorder and rather self-induced, "Of course it is only nervousness"(p. 705). John makes his wife feel guilty for not performing her role as wife and mother, "It does weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way!"(p. 705) She feels as if she impends on John's life, "I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already!" (p. 705) She believes that her mental illness is her fault and that she can, if she chooses to; control her outrage and actions, "I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I'm sure I never used to be so sensitive. I think it is due to this nervous condition."(p. 708) John drills the notion into his wife's head that she lacks self-control. She "take's pains to control herself" and ends up feeling exhausted. As a result of the husband's lack of emotional capacity and insensitivity, the narrator's recovery is hampered. A mental disorder is a disease that must be treated and is by no means self-induced.
The Yellow Wallpaper presents a very interesting perspective of how a man can influence and control a womans life from a feminist point of view. The narrator's condition is treated by the insensitive husband as a personal issue that can be managed. Through the author's usage of diction and personification of the wallpaper as an imprisoning force, we see rather the sanity of the main character and the insanity infringed on her. Just as a physical disease must be diagnosed and treated, a mental disorder must be cared for. Obviously, any person isolated in a room with yellow wallpaper would be driven to insanity. Clearly, the "Rest Cure" prescribed by John was ineffective. The lack of stimulation and society engagement allowed the mental disorder to grow and overtake the narrator's mind. Please note that this sample paper on Cult Of True Womanhood (The Yellow Wallpaper) is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Cult Of True Womanhood (The Yellow Wallpaper), we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Cult Of True Womanhood (The Yellow Wallpaper) will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
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