Subtle Feminist Assertions in The Yellow Wallpaper -- Feminism Feminis

  sharp Feminist Assertions in The Yellow Wallpaper            Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper was earlier shunned by the American patriarchal literary powers present before the turn away of the ascorbic acid. Despite editors hesitation, Gilmans determination eventually led to the storys publication in clean England Magazine in 1892. It was not until the early 1970s, however, that the story was adopted by the womens liberationist literary movement and viewed as the author undoubtedly intended. A popularly held opinion among critics is that this delayed acceptance was a case of mistaking by audiences used to traditional literature. Before the modern feminist movement in literature, readers would not have expected or looked for the kind of message strand in The Yellow Wallpaper. Were the story written a century later, the feminist message would likely be stronger. To get it published and portray the realities of her na rrator, however, Gilman accepted the need for ambiguity in the storys feminist message. Gilman left the story rude to patriarchal interpretations, but included enough commentary within and beyond the narration to convince the feminist reader of her true intentions.   The submissive unsung protagonist and narrator acts as an enabler to her patriarchal surroundings. Gilman clarifies on the first pageboy the narrators feminist disinclination, John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage. This defines the womans stance towards her position in her marriage and society. The womans defeatism also works to put her in her place in the patriarchal society. After briefly explaining that her husband does not believe s... ...not discounting, does more or less deflate, or mask, the argument that Gilman is offering a truism about the inconsistency between males and females.   Some of the greatest writers, artists, and musicians have been patently misread or ignor ed by their contemporaries, only to be discovered as visionaries decades or centuries later. By creating a submissive female narrator, Gilman makes a powerful didactics to the modern reader about the realities of women before the 20th century. The narrators acquiescent prime(a) is simultaneously a common trait for women of the time and the catalyst of her insanity. Considering the offer of women when the story was written, the narrator had to be as she was to be believable. Thus, the storys recent skip to popularity must be attributed to Gilmans subtle feminist assertions, almost a century ahead of their time.