Argumentative Essay on Perkin's "The Yellow Wallpaper" about Feminism

Jones 2

Sucely Jones

Prof. XXX

Composition II

2 May 2021

How does Charlotte Perkin’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” address Feminism?

Introduction

“The Yellow Wallpaper”, a story written by Charlotte Perkins in 1981, is a story about a woman who is diagnosed with a mental health issue after giving birth to her child. The story is written in a first-person view and express the feeling of the narrator who faces different issues because of her gender. Her doctor prescribes her to take rest as a medication for her mental illness and her husband forces her to follow the medication. She, the narrator of the story, starts seeing women in the yellow wallpaper of her room and feeling the smell of the paint. She tries to communicate with her husband to sort out the things, but her husband refuses to agree and listens to her. The narrator expresses her feelings and sufferings, and silently raises the question of feminism. On the other hand, a man with mental issues is prescribed different medication and everybody addresses the man’s voice. This unequal relationship between men and women, and discrepancies in the medical treatment is expressed in the women point leads to the question on feminism. Hence, Charlotte Perkin’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” addresses feminism by presenting discrepancies in medication between men and women for mental health, husband not listening to the wife’s views and feelings, and wife is forced to stay in a room without asking her choice and freedom.

Work Cited

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. Virago Press, 1981.

McCann, Hannah, et al. The Feminism Book. First American edition., DK Publishing,

2019.