Traces of Modernism and Women Emancipation in The Yellow Wallpaper and Term Paper

Traces of Modernism and Women Emancipation in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Awakening - Term Paper Example According to the paper for the first time brought women out from the confines of their homes, where they were primarily responsible to serve as mere wives and mothers, to a larger reality, with provided them with a chance to carve an identity in the socio-economic domain. This led to many supporting developments like the dilution of the taboo associated with divorce and cohabitation, the advent of the Pill that gave women a decisive say in the sphere of their reproductive health and decisions, and a larger scope for women in the educational, career making and workforce related opportunities. However, these changes did not remain merely confined to the area of economic affairs and social status, but also greatly influenced the role ascribed to women in personal relationships. The women became more questioning of the issues like sexuality, marriage and motherhood. The short story The Yellow Wallpaper and the novel The Awakening to a great extent pertain to this altering stance of women in the interpersonal relationships and a changing approach of the women towards issues like domesticity, marriage and motherhood. This paper stresses that gilman masterfully uses her short story The Yellow Wallpaper to make reveling statements about the issues like feminism and womanhood. To do so, Gilman expertly leads the reader through the misery faced by a woman in the wake of her neurotic state, characterizing a mix of her mental state and her views pertaining to marriage and womanhood through her association with the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom.