Destroying social norms - Essay Example

Destroying Social Norms Throughout history even as late as the early 20th century, women have been virtual slaves to the male-dominated world. Very few women were able to discover a life filled with self-expression and self-determination thanks, in large part, to the restrictions placed on them by their legal and social status. Charlotte Perkins Gilman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” wrote specifically about these female problems by providing a glimpse into the strong mind of a woman who finds herself a prisoner to the external dictates of husband, society and invisible legal status. Although she does her best to resist her confinement using various different means, she discovers she is completely incapable of escaping the bounds of her society’s definitions without first sacrificing her sanity simply because she is permitted no voice of her own. As it is presented in the story, this is not done through any sense of malice, but rather as an attempt to protect her from the harmful influences of the outside world. In many respects, this attitude has become echoed by the leaders of the American Republican party and women again face the possibility of losing their voice to external control. Within Gilman's Victorian era story, the female protagonist is never given a name, symbolizing her universal application to all women living in America at that time. She is instructed by her husband and her doctor (one and the same individual) to remain isolated in one of the upper rooms of a remote country house as a remedy for what has been interpreted as post partum depression (Greene, 2001). She obeys her instructions reluctantly, allowing the reader into her thoughts about another room downstairs that she feels would have helped much more. “I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! but John would not hear of it. He said there was only one window and not room for two beds, and no near room for him if he took another” (Gilman, 1899). The room she must occupy is instead on the second floor and thought to have originally been a child's nursery, including bars on the windows. The old faded yellow wallpaper attached to the walls would only deepen her sense of despair associated with post-partum depression. The symbolism of the room and the helplessness of its intended occupant is heightened as she makes comments such as “He [John] is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction. I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he takes all care from me” (Gilman, 1899). Within this brief opening, it is already clear that though the woman has a good sense of what is wrong with her and what she needs to cure this malady, her voice is completely disregarded by those in control of her life, generally acting for what they believe to be her welfare. It is easy to look at this story as a chilling tale of the detrimental effects of a highly oppressive society that existed long ago, but many of these issues are pushing themselves back into society through the efforts of the right-wing Republican party. For example, Gilman's character is unable to have a voice in her own medical care which essentially makes her the victim of her husband, doctor and a political system that gives John the power to send her away to another doctor if she fails to demonstrate satisfactory improvement within a given timeframe. How different is this really from a political system being pushed into place by a Republican House in which a woman and her doctors are not afforded the right to make even life-saving decisions on their own if it means the necessary abortion of a potentially viable but not guaranteed fetus? This is not to advocate abortion, but to ask whether a living woman's life shouldn't have at least as much weight as a fetus that may or may not survive and definitely won't if the mother passes. Other recent efforts of the Republican party that directly attack women's health include the defunding of Title X which is the primary funding for Planned Parenthood. "The House Appropriations Committee wants to ensure that more low-income women experience unintended and untenable pregnancies, and that they are then forced to bring those to term. And along the way, ... Congress will also ensure that more women die of breast and cervical cancer and more people suffer from sexually transmitted infections. This is dictatorship over women's lives" (Jacobson, 2011). By both denying access to preventative care and denying the ability to terminate, the Republican party is attempting to force women back into the traditional role of wife and mother, dependent on a husband for her welfare and without free choice of which sick room she will stay in. The primary role of the woman in Gilman's time was widely believed to be mother and housekeeper, forever in bondage to her husband and family. Personal attributes, feelings, ambitions or talents had no place within the female form other than as something to be subdued, contained or controlled. This fact is reflected through the portrayal of other women in the story. One of them, Mary, has no distinguishing features, interests or activities. The reader only knows two real facts about her - she is present enough to have a name and “It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby” (Gilman, 1899). One might assume from this character that because she is fulfilling her proper female role, she at least gains the courtesy of being named while the heroine remains without a name. Jenny, the other woman present, is “a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession” (Gilman, 1899) so she also earns the right to a name. The importance of meeting feminine ideals was so strong that women were unable to cope with any idea that they might be unable to fulfill the one role they were awarded. “In a New York hospital, a woman had a nervous breakdown when she found she could not breastfeed her baby. In other hospitals, women dying of cancer refused a drug which research had proved might save their lives: its side effects were said to be unfeminine. … They ate a chalk called Metrecal, instead of food, to shrink to the size of the thin young models” (Friedan, 1963). Generalized, many of these same issues continue to haunt women today. A great deal of modern women's issues about body image and femininity have been built over the years through a variety of media outlets and commercial tactics, but they are also advocated by the Republican party. Facing charges of being too male-centric and a female Presidential candidate on the Democratic side, the Republican party placed the first pretty woman it could find within its ranks on the Presidential ticket. As more facts became known about Sarah Palin, it became clear that John McCain's election staff engaged in almost no vetting of the candidate before placing her on the ticket. "Palin's only qualification for the second or, God forbid, the first job in the land is that John McCain thought she'd lend his sagging campaign a shot of estrogen and some right-wing Christian fairy-dust" (Pollitt, 2008). Her level of ignorance about the real issues and intricacies of national politics and big business guaranteed her failure before she ever had a chance to step out of Alaska. "She doesn't know enough; she lacks the necessary grasp of, and curiosity about, our complex world; her political philosophy could fit on a bumper sticker: Us versus Them. ... It isn't even clear she's well acquainted with the lower 48" (Pollitt, 2008). Her flirty antics on stage and clearly uninformed answers to intelligent questions that a Vice President should know only fed into the Republican attitude regarding the limited ability of women to meet the demands of a man's world. Although she was held up as an example of what a 'real' woman can achieve, the insincerity of Republican belief in this claim is demonstrated in their utter disdain for Hilary Clinton, a woman who, whether you like her or hate her, has demonstrated intelligence, awareness, knowledge and the ability to understand complex issues. "The Yellow Wallpaper" uses the yellow wallpaper of the old nursery room in which its main character is trapped as a symbol of the stifling, unnatural and unhealthy blanket of patriarchy that oppressed women throughout history. “Patriarchy is the system which oppresses women through its social, economic and political institutions. Throughout history men have had greater power in both the public and private spheres. To maintain this power, men have created boundaries and obstacles for women, thus making it harder for women to hold power” (Kramarae et al, 1985). The main character says, “Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind. And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern – it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads” (Gilman, 1899). In saying this, she is expressing the understanding that all women of her time are trapped within this yellow wallpaper of old tradition and dusty men's laws and attitudes. If women are not willing to stand up for the rights of their sisters now, they may very well be seeing a gradual return to a modern rendition of oppressed rights and dwindling options. Works Cited Friedan, Betty. “Chapter 1: The Problem that Has No Name.” The Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1963. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. Boston: Small & Maynard, 1899. Jacobson, Jodi. "As They Seek to Ban Abortion, GOP Also Moves to Eliminate Title X Family Planning Program." Reality Check. February 9, 2011. http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/02/09/title-x Kramarae, Cheris and Treichler, Paula A., with assistance from Ann Russo. A Feminist Dictionary. London, Boston: Pandora Press, 1985. Politt, Katha. "The End of Meritocracy." Guardian.co.uk. September 29, 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/sep/29/sarah.palin.feminism.election Read More