What happens when a group turns on itself; does not support its members and allows the identities imposed on them to separate them? Disunity within a group aids its suppression and is a missed opportunity for that group to combat whatever is keeping them down. Feminist criticism investigates literature and notes the inequality between men and women. They use literature as a springboard to address suppression of one group – women, by another- men. In fiction, good women are often portrayed as nothing more than dutiful mothers, and obedient wives. The expectation to play this role results in racialized femininity, by which women engage in certain behaviors – none of which promote individuality or unity within the group. The ideas of normative behavior expected of good women are inescapable. They are spread through schools, families, social networks and literature. The consequence for not following a prescribed set of behaviors is isolation from the group.
In her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, published in an issue of New England Magazine in 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman describes the struggle of a woman dealing with depression, isolated and misunderstood by her husband, and unable to express her feelings that suggest the unfavorable circumstance of many women during the 19th century. Gilman illustrates her story through the intimate journal entries of a woman diagnosed by men as having a temporary nervous depression following a pregnancy. Encouraged not to think about her circumstance, the protagonist is left alone and becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in the room she is confined to.
Feminist criticism has taken time to analyze “The Yellow Wallpaper” and its worth as a piece of literature. The interpretation of this story has varied. But mostly there seems to be an argument that is steeped in gender differences and the oppression of women. As the story was written in the 19th century contrast is most easily made bet...