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ic 25 - 26 american literature 1
early stream of consciousness and feminism in fiction
“the yellow wallpaper”
by charlotte perkins gilman
it is very seldom that mere ordinary people like john and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer.
a colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, i would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity - but that would be asking too much of fate!
still i will proudly declare that there is something queer about it.
else, why should it be let so cheaply? and why have stood so long untenanted?
john laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.
john is practical in the extreme. he has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures.
john is a physician, and perhaps - (i would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind) - perhaps that is one reason i do not get well faster.
you see he does not believe i am sick.
and what can one do?
if a physician of high standing, and ones own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency - what is one to do?
john does not know how much i really suffer. he knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.
of course it is only nervousness. it does weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way!
i meant to be such a help to john, such a real rest and comfort, and here i am a comparative burden already!
nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little i am able - to dress and entertain and order things.
how does the narrators viewpoint reveal a social attitude of gilmans time?
the narrator feels an overwhelming responsibility to meet societys expectations
the narrator questions why she should perform certain duties, such as entertaining guests
the narrator thinks that her husband displays a great deal of nervousness, and she wonders about its source
the narrator questions her place in society and her role as a mother and a wife
La narratriz siente una gran responsabilidad para cumplir con las expectativas de la sociedad, como ser una ayuda para su marido. Esto demuestra que en la época de Gilman, se esperaba mucho de las mujeres en términos de roles sociales.
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The narrator feels an overwhelming responsibility to meet society's expectations