The Etruscans: Challenging the Perception of Gender Parity in an Ancient Civilization

Imagine you are at a party. A sumptuous feast is set out with a table piled high of almost every kind of meat you could want to taste: beef, lamb, pork, deer, wild boar, hare, and all sorts of game birds. There is a great variety of seafood as well, especially tuna, accompanied by enormous rounds of sheep’s milk cheese, vegetables, fruit, olives, porridge, bread pancakes, eggs, raisins and nuts. To further enhance the flavors, condiments of herbs, mint, honey, vinegar, pepper, and other spices are added. The people you are among happen to belong to a society which is a great exporter of wine, so there is no shortage in that department either, and domestic servants keep it flowing by continuously bringing the intoxicating burgundy-hued liquid to you in delicate silver pitchers. To keep the mood of the gathering uplifted, you hear the lively and delicate tune of the flute accompanied perhaps by the lyre, a small stringed instrument.

As you make your way around the room, you observe the other dinner party attendees, all of whom are in groups, with no one being alone. They are not sitting upright in chairs at a long elegant table but, rather, they are reclining on one-armed sofas. Some are even on floor mats surrounded by plush luxuriantly designed pillows. The men wear Greek-style tunics with complicated braided hairstyles. The hairstyles of the women are similar but with the addition of elaborate gold adornments and sparkling bold jewelry which compliments their brightly colored attire.

Your eye is drawn to one corner of the room where there is a couple sitting on a sofa. A woman sips heartily from a goblet of wine, tosses her head back with a boisterous laugh as she settles languorously against the gentleman next to her, her left breast slightly exposed and just caressing the right side of his chest. As you become more engaged and conversational with your fellow guests, you realize that this couple is not married! In fact, the woman’s husband is very close by, appearing to be equally relaxed and enjoying himself with other guests. In this gathering, there is nothing that is unseemly or taboo about the scene here.

Who is this woman? And who are these people? As you have probably guessed, you are being entertained at the home of someone belonging to an ancient civilization. The civilization is that of the Etruscans.

Etruscan Women

Preceding the rise of Rome as a super power, the entirety of Italy was ruled by the Etruscans. The surrounding seas were dominated by their ships. Their reputation was fearsome enough, as word of them spread abroad to other nations, without the added uneasiness of hearing how Etruscan society accorded women with influence and power.

There is little to be known about the Etruscans. Once they were conquered by the Romans, much of what was left of their civilization was lost, with none of their literature surviving. Archaeologists and historians have pieced together what Etruscan life was like by interpreting the vivid art that was left on their pottery, which illustrated depictions of elite Etruscans dining on top of the sarcophagi of dead loved ones, and there were also scenes of women drinking and sharing repast with the men - something that was rarely seen in ancient Greek and later Roman society. Only courtesans and prostitutes would be at a party among Greeks and Romans, and proper women in those societies would not be drinking wine, at least not until Rome was an empire. Yet, not only were Etruscan women expert drinkers, they freely imbibed right alongside the men.

The gender parity that existed between Etruscan men and women is probably what stands out most about what is known of their civilization. Etruscan women “scandalously” went out publicly, were able to read and write, and likely passed these dire habits on to their offspring (which they raised themselves). It was not uncommon for Etruscan women to be seen naked - at parties, at athletic events (which they participated in) - and even to share sexual experiences with partners who were not their husbands. They freely engaged in wining and dining publicly with their husbands and were actually elevated to higher social status for doing so. There are sculptured sarcophagi that show couples reclining together, affectionate and relaxed, the woman speaking and gesturing while the man placidly looks on. Murals also show women reclining or dancing amidst the men. They show female camaraderie and intimacy, notably in one painting that shows women who lay together, faces close as if kissing.

To share wives was an established Etruscan custom. Etruscan women took particular care of their bodies and exercised often, sometimes along with the men, and sometimes by themselves. Pitch tar was used to remove excess hair from their bodies. It was not a disgrace for them to be seen naked but rather, it was common. They did not share their couches only with their husbands but also with the other men who happened to be present, and they proposed toasts to anyone whom they chose to.

As mentioned previously, Etruscan women raised their own children and other children, regardless of who the father might have been, but more than that, archaeology suggests that there may have been matronymic lines in that the ancestry could be traced back to the maternal lineage rather than the paternal, based on certain inscriptions. Sometimes the father’s surname was added to the mother’s, which indicated a bilateral system which recognized matrilineal connections.

Women’s roles in the Etruscan-Roman relationship

One of the key female figures in ancient early Roman history is that of Tanaquil, the daughter of a powerful Etruscan family in Etruria and wife to Lucius Tarquin, the first Etruscan king of Rome. She was rumored to have prophetic abilities (something that nowadays might be considered to be female intuition) that persuaded her husband to move to Rome and become established with the local aristocracy, despite being an immigrant. While traveling to Rome, an eagle flew from Tarquin’s head and then returned back, which Tanaquil interpreted to be a divine sign that he was meant to be king. Her prophecy was eventually realized when Tarquin became friends with King Ancus Marcius, who made Tarquin the guardian of his children. When the king died before his children were old enough to become successors, Tarquin gained enough popularity to be elected as the fifth king of Rome. Tanaquil later used her influence again to play a role in the rise of the sixth king, Servius Tullius, whom she raised as her own child.

Due to her legendary status in early Etruscan-Roman politics, Tanaquil was respected and remembered favorably by Romans who elevated her to mythological status and changed her name in the history books to Caia Caecilia. It even became Roman public decree that when a new bride entered into a royal palace, she would go by the name “Gaia” if asked. This was meant to be an omen of frugality and simple living for women of that time period.

What was lost?

Once the Romans grew dissatisfied with Etruscan rule, the Tarquins were expelled from the city, and Romans began to establish a Republic just as their Etruscan counterparts were doing throughout the rest of Italy. This overthrow marked the beginning of the end of Etruscan rule in southern Italy. First they lost the routes to the cities leading to fertile land in the region of Campania, which was tolerable, but once they lost their naval strongholds, it was all but over. Following the destruction of their navy along with hostilities from all sides and internal struggles, the Etruscan city-states were conquered one by one and eventually fell to Rome. The Romans assimilated parts of Etruscan culture and discarded the rest.

One of the cultural aspects that was lost in relation to Etruscan women when the transition of power was passed to Rome was the freedom and social status of women. While Etruscan women did not have especially significant roles in initiating political changes in their society (Tanaquil being one of the historical exceptions), the Etruscan women had a lot more freedom to interact with their husbands and other men in public, attending parties and such, whereas Greek and Roman women did not. One thing to keep in mind, based on what is read and one’s own personal perception, is that much of the art depicted on the ancient archaeological findings of Etruscan pottery is that of wealthy elite-class Etruscan women. It is unknown what life was like for more lower-class Etruscan women and how much freedom they might have had.

Contrasting current perceptions of female-assigned gender roles

One thing that is striking when reading about ancient Etruscan women is how they were perceived by ancient chroniclers who were accustomed to how much more subordinated Greek and Latin women were in contrast to their Etruscan counterparts. Having the freedom to participate actively at parties while dressed in colorful eye-catching clothes and elaborate adornments, they were looked upon as “licentious” for doing so, whereas in their own society they were respected. Earlier Greeks left personal testimony for later Greeks to base their own perceptions and when reading these subjective eyewitness accounts, one could almost detect a hint of envy mixed in with an air of judgment. When considering these ancient comparisons of how women could be labeled based on personal perception and cultural relevancy, it brings to mind that similar contrasts could be done today.

A good visual example to consider would be that of a photo capturing Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton being greeted by topless women when they visited the Solomon Islands in 2012. In their own local culture, nothing about these women addressing the British royal couple in this way would be perceived as inappropriate and yet, as a guest, it is interesting to note that Kate Middleton did not assimilate to the local culture and appear topless herself; she is fully covered in a blue dress. On the other hand, if one of these local women of the Solomon Islands appeared topless on a street in London, there would likely be more scrutiny and disapproval, if not outrage.

Another and more recent example to contrast, specifically regarding gender parity in politics and business, would be that of Hilary Clinton, the primary Democratic candidate for the 2016 Presidential election. In comparison to Donald Trump, who was captured on audio making inappropriate statements about women, which was ultimately dismissed by many of his supporters as something that was “in the past,” Clinton herself was not given such a pass for the discovery that she had used a private server for emails even though it was never proven that she committed anything treasonous. The burden of proof was shifted to her to prove her innocence to the public during this political witch hunt, rather than the other way around - burden of proof shifting to those accusing her of guilt - which is supposed to be the maxim upheld in American justice. It would seem that the public perception of her being “dishonest” and “manipulative” were assigned more to her as a woman than the same accusations that were applied to Donald Trump and yet, he was rewarded in this political narrative whereas she was punished.

A final example to look at is that of Wendi Deng, a Chinese-American actress, producer, and businesswoman. She was formerly married to media titan, Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, and has more recently been rumored to be the girlfriend of Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation. She has a history of seducing older married men with the opinion that it was in order to increase her social strata, which has caused some to look at her as a “gold-digger” and social climber; even gaining her labels such as “glorified escort” and more. Yet, she has a professional résumé that would credit her as an executive who increased the presence and investments of NewsCorp in China, among other impressive professional ventures. Even still, for anyone who is vaguely familiar with who Wendi Deng is, it is suspected that they are more likely to associate her for her latent connections to high-profile men rather than on the merit of her own accomplishments without doing further digging.

Conclusion

In the current parlance of our times with feminism, sexuality, and women’s rights being dominant issues in the foreground of sociopolitical discourses, I believe that the Etruscan society, especially regarding the role of women, merits consideration. Aside from being a fascinating civilization, it provides a comparative lens for which to do analysis with our contemporary cultural relevancy. If not much else is known about the Etruscans, it is apparent that women were not only respected and encouraged to pursue social freedoms, they were considered equals. It is not only a feature, but a central narrative which dominates the illustrations of ancient Etruscan artifact.

Why 12 ANGRY MEN Is Such An Important Film

A superbly told story, while entertaining, can also stimulate us to examine ourselves closely. One of the best ways to get a person to reflect upon themselves in such a way is to be relatable. 12 Angry Men is a very relatable film (Dir. Sidney Lumet. Perf. Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley. United Artists 1957).

No matter what your station in life - your gender, your nationality, your religion, your view on politics - you will find some aspect of yourself reflected back in one or more of the characters in this movie. You will see men who are fair, who search for facts, who rely on opinions, who are swayed easily by the crowd, who are prejudiced, who take things too personally. The film reveals how some of the men are moved to change their original viewpoints based on the facts and the realization that they have based their decision on personal feelings, while others’ apparent change seems based upon expectation by their peers.

One of the film’s most compelling scenes involves a man (performed superbly by Ed Begley) fervently imploring the other 11 to echo his opinion. One by one, the others rise from their seats and turn their backs on him. It is the first time we see the majority of the jurors unified for the same reason. The man’s race-based rantings, it is agreed, are not worth sharing and have no place in this room. Humiliated, perhaps ashamed, the lone man slumps into his chair. He utters not a single word again, save to give his last, and sincerely changed, vote of not guilty.

By the end of the movie, I was both satisfied and unsettled. I would like to think that I would be the kind of person to stand against something I feel is wrong, even if my viewpoint is not a popular one. As I watched the movie, however, I felt sympathetic to characters who were in conflict with the man who first stood up against the crowd (perf. Henry Fonda). I related to the few who seemed to want to do the right thing but who at first remained silent out of fear. I also questioned if I would stubbornly stick with the wrong sentiment, because it is influenced by my own personal feelings and experiences. One such example is the man who held onto his vote of “guilty” up until the very last, and we find out that the reason why is because the defendant reminded him of the heartbreak he had for his own estranged son (perf. Lee J. Cobb).

I feel that this movie is important for people to watch, because it compels us to reflect deep within and ask ourselves which man or woman would we be. Who would I be? Would I be the first person to stand up when I feel something is wrong, or would I be apathetic? Would I base my decision on what the facts are? Would I be moved primarily by others’ opinions? I believe these self-reflecting questions are important to ask ourselves and watching this movie is a good incentive to do that.

EMPOWERING WOMEN: Beauty vs. Intelligence

It is difficult to recall the day I began to think that being pretty was something many considered more important than being smart. I became a film actor around 2005 and officially joined an industry that places heavy value on young, beautiful people. In particular, young beautiful women. Concurrently with my acting career, I have also pursued training and careers in industries where learning and being taken seriously as an academic are important, like mathematics and aeronautics. I have experienced both sides and realize they are both challenging.

My parent’s opposing views of what is considered beautiful influenced my own polarized views. My mother was a fan of Hollywood's Golden Age of screen performers. Her expression while gazing at Vivian Leigh’s lovely visage as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind could accurately be described as rapturous. Her praise and appreciation for screen greats like Gene Tierney and Elizabeth Taylor shaped my own perception of what is beautiful. My father, in contrast, was an aging undergrad student of astrobiology who instilled in me a fascination for space and aviation sciences. He passed on to me an appreciation for female astronauts, like Sally Ride who, when compared to a screen gem like Angelina Jolie, could arguably be called “plain” or even “unattractive”. However, in terms of sheer mental and professional accomplishments (a physics degree from Stanford and the first female astronaut to travel in space), she could hardly be called unimpressive. An interesting consideration came to me recently when I realized that, should Hollywood decide to dramatize Sally Ride’s life on screen, there is little doubt that the producers would find an actress who, though talented, would be cast more on the basis of her visual appeal than her physical resemblance to the real Sally Ride. After all, you would want the broadest audience to watch your film. And, it would seem, beauty is easier to recognize than intelligence.

The ideals of what is considered attractive have changed throughout history and civilizations, but there is little debate that physical attractiveness has always had a dominant appeal in society. The practice of enhancing or altering one’s physical features to fit the current standard of beauty has long been prevalent. Cleopatra is noted for using crushed carmine beetles to color her lips (Valdesolo) and Queen Elizabeth I for having thick white makeup applied to cover up the scars on her skin left by smallpox (Skerrett.) Though these were two of the most politically powerful female figures in history, each felt compelled to put their best face forward. A small but curious consideration.

Jumping forward to modern times, we see various pop culture celebrities peering flawlessly back at us from magazine covers. The majority of them share some great levels of success in careers creating and promoting films, music or, in most cases, beauty itself. Yet, each could scarcely represent a larger cross-section of ages and nationalities. For some, it is easy to think of these people, as the cliche goes, as nothing but pretty faces. Such as Natalie Portman, a published Harvard psychology graduate. Or Geena Davis, a long-time member of MENSA. But few of these articles or ads are created to encourage readers to pursue an academic career in psychology or join a national group dedicated to bring awareness to intellectual enhancement, but rather to buy the same cosmetics or beauty tips as each of them have endorsed.

There seems to be a revolution of sorts building in recent years against the use of digital editing, evidenced by celebrities and musicians being more transparent about their skills and techniques. In Meghan Trainor’s hit song, “All About That Bass," she sings “I see the magazine workin’ that Photoshop...c’mon now, make it stop.” To that point, it seems and more celebrities, like Kate Winslet and Jamie Lee Curtis, have begun speaking out against the unrealistic standards of beauty that such manipulation allows. In 2014, Keira Knightley posed topless, sans makeup or hairstyling. Rather, she highlighted her naturally small breasts and rather simple shape. Her point was to cast contrasting visuals to how her body had been augmented and presented so many times in the past (Dokterman.) In a sign of how public opinion may be shifting, the great majority of social and media response praised her for so cleverly designing and presenting an easy to understand commentary about the corporate sales of beauty products, while also expressing the genuine appeal of her beautiful natural form.

In keeping with this shift of beauty vs. brains, there is a growing list of celebrities such as Tiny Fey and Mindy Kaling who are known more for their shrewd intellect and wit first, while also highlighting their attractiveness. Equally, renowned beauties such as Angelina Jolie seem to be taking a genuine interest in promoting their humanitarian and leadership efforts rather than overly touting their interests in beauty. But overall, it is somewhat evident that pointing out such intelligence is meant mainly to enhance and support physical beauty, first and foremost. I think of the media surrounding superstar George Clooney’s wife, Amal Alamuddin. Her impressive resume includes being a human rights attorney, former clerk for a Supreme Court Justice, and fluent speaker of three languages. Yet, a Google Image search of her name results in her top photo groupings being of her wedding dress and her fashion shots. To find any photos of her in her day job (prior to being Mrs. Clooney), one will have to be more specific about their search.

It is refreshing to think that a genuine shift in favor of a woman’s beauty complimenting her intelligence rather than her intelligence complimenting her beauty could in fact take place. Perhaps it could even happen within my lifetime. So much that we are seeing socially suggests it is possible or at least conceivable. However, it is also difficult to conceive a throwback leading man such as Clooney marrying a junior version of Margaret Thatcher. Perhaps this is because beauty is simply something that mentally takes priority when it comes to our own intelligence. But then, it may just be awkward hooking up with a mate who you not only consider smarter than you but that eventually to whom you may have to pay taxes.

Works Cited

Dockterman, Eliana. “Keira Knightley and 7 Other Celebrities Who Protested Photoshop and   Won.” Time, 7 November 2014. Web.
Skerrett, Victoria. “The Death of Queen Elizabeth I." Tudor Stuff: Tudor History From The Heart of England. 3 November 2009. Web.
Valdesolo, Fiorella. “The Red Army." The New York Times, 27 August 2006. Newspaper.
Fey, Tina. Bossypants. 5 Apr. 2011. Autobiography.
Trainor, Meghan. “All About That Bass.” 2 June. 2014. Song.

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER - analysis of mental health treatment for women of 19th Century

Analyzing Oppressive Treatment of Women in late 19th Century Psychiatric Medicine

in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”

I have heard psychiatry be referenced to as the “baby” of medicine. New treatments and medications are being presented for evaluation every day, and often the efficacy of these treatments are up for subjective opinion, both on the part of the patient and the physician. The power dynamic is often shifted in favor of the physician, or other care giver, to decide if the treatment or therapy prescribed is benefiting the patient. The possible dangers of such an approach to treating psychiatric maladies, particularly towards women in the late 19th century, are explored in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and examples can be found for how the primary character longs for liberation from an oppressive psychiatric therapy.

The main character has been diagnosed as having a “temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency” by a physician of high standing (310). It should be noted that this condition was primarily designated for females around the time this story was written. The fact that this physician is her “own husband” is the first troubling example, which is even pointed out when she mentions that “perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster” (310). His diagnosis is backed up by her brother, who is also a physician. While seemingly loving and attentive enough, we get the sense that her husband is a domineering and controlling man, as shown by the statement that she is “absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until I am well again” (310). There are several questions that arise from this statement. The first one that comes to mind is what exactly constitutes “work”? The fact that the writer has put this word in quotes within her statement suggests that she does not agree with the idea that, in her case, writing or painting or anything else artistic or intellectual to freely pass her time, should be considered work. The second question that arises is who decides when she has gotten “well again”? She herself? Or her husband/physician? To expand on that, how and who was it that decided she needed treatment in the first place?

The main character/patient is secured in the “nursery at the top of the house” (311). The room is described as a “big, airy room” with lots of windows facing all directions, letting plenty of fresh air and sunshine in, but which also have bars on them. This gives the feeling that although she is allowed a sense of freedom, it is measured and controlled. The object of focus for her, to the point of obsession, is the yellow wallpaper in the room. At first she finds it “repellant”, then she slowly begins to tolerate it, and then finally towards the end, she is fascinated by it and spends most of her time studying its “sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin” (311). She tries to get her husband to take her away from the place, but he persuades her to stick it out. Then he has her believe that he will “repaper the room” only to change his mind with the reasoning that she was letting it get the better of her, “and that nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies” (312). She “tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him” to tell him how she wished to visit cousins, whom she felt would be a positive influence on her. He refused, causing her to break down in tears, which she felt weakened her own case, not his (315).

It is possible that the wallpaper is a reflection of the patient’s own mind, which eventually gives way to delusion. She describes it as being “dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide” - plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions” (311). I find this statement curious, because I wonder if she considers herself “dull” (low self-esteem, perhaps) but knows that she has a mentality that can at times be “irritating” and provokes her husband to “study” her. One might wonder if her husband diagnosed and instituted this treatment on her so that he could control the degrees of interaction he would have with her, thereby keeping the power dynamic pendulum swinging in his favor. The patterns destroying themselves in unheard-of contradictions is foreshadowing of her own imminent transformation at the end of the story, to the horror of her husband.

Nearing the end of the narrative, we begin to see evidence of her liberation from, and even defiance of, her husband by means of the wallpaper. One example of this is when she notes that John is pleased to see her improve, and that he “laughed a little the other day, and said I seemed to be flourishing in spite of my wallpaper”. She then reveals to us, almost smugly, that she “had no intention of telling him it was because of the wallpaper--” (317). She begins to imagine a woman “trying to climb through” (318.) I feel she is transferring her own emotions into the wallpaper and imagining herself as the woman, because she feels “nobody could climb through that pattern--it strangles so” (318). Perhaps she feels that her situation is impossible to escape from, even though she longs for liberation.

She eventually does get some form of liberation when she imagines herself getting up to “help” the woman escape from the strangling pattern of the wallpaper, which she tears from the wall (319). Finally, her liberation is complete when she becomes the woman and can “creep around” as she pleases, and the visible result is such that it causes her husband to cry out and faint, which could be considered a feminine act, thereby reversing the roles of gender and the power dynamic, since he is now helpless on the floor and she is able to creep over him.

Work Cited

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Literature: Reading to Write.
Ed. Elizabeth Howells. New York: Pearson, 2010. 6873. Print.

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER - A research paper examining the legacy of Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Early Feminism vs. 19th Century Medical Patriarchy: 

A Closer look at “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the Legacy of Charlotte Perkins Gilman

When looking to gain perspective about the proto-feminism that existed in 19th century literature, such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, it is important to evaluate the patriarchal systems that existed in Gilman’s time, the medical attitudes toward women which influenced her work and even examining Gilman’s own life that shaped the legacy she would leave as a benchmark for advancing the women’s rights movement.

Patriarchal themes resonate throughout Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The first example of the patriarchal system that is evident is the narrator’s acquiescence to her husband and brother’s medical diagnosis and recommended cure treatment, even though she does not agree with it. She states her opinion of what would be best for her recovery by beginning with the word “Personally” but is even more so repetitive with the question “what is one to do?” (310). She repeats this latter phrase three times on the first page but the assertive term “personally” twice, which shows that her deference to the patriarchal order outweighs her own ideas of how her health care should be handled. Prior to the 20th century, men assigned and defined women’s roles and expected submission on the part of women to imply “vulnerability and dependence on the patriarchal head”, which would apply also to accepting a prescribed cure from an authoritative medical figure (Thomas). The concept of diagnosis is a verbal formula representing a constellation of physical symptoms and observable behaviors. It is a powerful and public male voice that privileges the rational, the practical, and the observable. It is the voice of male logic and male judgment which dismisses superstition and refuses to see the house as haunted or the narrator’s condition as serious (Treichler). The typical neurasthenic patient’s symptoms might include fever, exhaustion, nervousness and pallor, and these were therefore assembled to produce a “diagnosis.” In contrast to her husband’s rigidly mannered and socially accepted behavior, the narrator’s energetic imagination is a “sprawling flamboyant pattern” (311). Rather than validating his wife (patient’s) voice on how serious her condition is, she is silenced, which sheds light on how women’s voices were censored regarding mental health issues during this cultural time (Green).

The narrator at first attempts an “artificial feminine self” (Treichler) by speaking in quiet reserved tones and refraining from crying around her husband. She keeps her language structure in a very feminine context by deferring to her husband and brother’s medical judgment, even though she disagrees: “So I take phosphates or phosphites...Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?” (310)

The fact that she makes a casual referral to the ugliness of the wallpaper - being observant of the room decor - seems an inherent and acceptable feminine thing to do. Ripping the wallpaper from the wall is a metaphor for the narrator to escape from the patriarchy, which embodies the patterns that the patriarchal order ignores, suppresses, fears as grotesque or fails to perceive at all (Treichler). The color “yellow” seems to represent a variety of denigrating context for Gilman’s cultural time: it not only applies to ethnic groups such as Chinese and light-skinned African-Americans and connotes ideas of “inferiority, strangeness, cowardice, ugliness, and backwardness”, but also alludes to the color of disease and even the British-American fear of aliens (Lanser). Women in early feminist literature are portrayed as having secondary roles in their patriarchal and social systems, as seen in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, in which the main female character is denied “a voice, an identity, and even physical freedom” (Alfadel). The minor female characters, such as Jennie and Mary, have their accepted roles in the patriarchal system: Jennie, the house servant and the narrator’s attendant (her name possibly being a euphemism for a “Jenny-mule”, a beast of burden) and Mary (which rhymes with “marry” and whose character seems befitting of a proper would-be wife in that time period of society) who “is so good with the baby” (312).

It seems reasonable to believe that Gilman based “The Yellow Wallpaper” on her own experience with depression and the subsequent rest cure treatment by Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, a prominent neurological physician of her time. She “became a commentator on the evolving social order” and was an early voice in the advancement of the women’s movement before the ideology of feminism was even an accepted or recognized concept (Beekman). Her father’s departure from the family in 1859, with limited contact and support, as well as her mother’s decision to withhold affection in order to harden her up, likely left a lasting emotional impression on Gilman and her approach to marriage and child-rearing. She inherited a strong sense of feminine pride in asserting her own viewpoint and maintaining independence from both parental sides, albeit with a softer more feminine heritage from her mother’s side. Following the birth of her child, she fell into a deep depression due to motherhood consuming her time and restricting her writing aspirations. Not long after, she realized that for her the traditional domestic role was at least in part the cause of her distress. She left her husband and took her baby to California to fulfill her aspirations of being a writer. She eventually surrendered the care of her daughter back to her husband and his new wife, who was also Gilman’s best friend. It was in this subsequent period that she became a socialist, activist and humanitarian, and wrote several published pieces of writing, including her most well-known story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Further evidence of her abdication of her socially accepted female role is her failed marriage and intimate relationships with females, notably Mary A. Luther and Adeline Knapp, known as “Dora” (Hill). This brings reference to her repeated use of the word “queer” throughout the story (310 and 317), which is synonymous with “strange” and “peculiar” and is even suggestive of homosexuality (Crewe).

Her decision to tear herself from the role of wife and mother is reflected at the end of “The Yellow Wallpaper” when she frees the woman (her alter-ego) who is hidden within the wallpaper, representing her liberation from the entrapment of patriarchal society. She remains tethered, however, by her “well-hidden rope”, which for her primary narrative character means that she still is to be dependent on her husband who has merely “fainted” and will undoubtedly be strongly responsive to his wife’s more extreme condition after he regains consciousness (320). Likewise, despite her defiance and freedom from the rest cure treatment and dependence on men, Gilman, herself, remains tethered and dependent on Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, by her desire to have his acknowledgment and response to the story he most influenced. Ultimately, she is also bound to her troubled emotions when she succumbs to suicide due to diagnosis of cancer.

“The Yellow Wallpaper”, as an ecriture feminine work, is full with examples of patriarchy, both within the medical profession and the marital structure, and as an early benchmark of feminine voice in literature, whether used in a journal or with the use of an alternate ego, as exemplified in this story. It also serves as a “symbol of the paternalistic nature of 19th-century medicine and the suppression of female creativity” (Martin).

Works Cited

Alfadel, Maria R. “Women’s Image in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and Fadia Faqir’s ‘Pillars of Salt’: A Feminist Approach”. Middle East University for Graduate Studies. 2010. Web.

Beekman, Mary. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935): Her life and work as a social scientist and feminist." Women’s Intellectual Contributions to the Study of Mind and Society. Web.

Crew, Jonathan. “Queering The Yellow Wallpaper? Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Politics of Form.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature. 1995. Print.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Literature: Reading to Write. Ed. Elizabeth Howells. New York: Pearson, 2010. 310-320.

Green, Shelley. “Women’s Encounters with the Mental Health Establishment: Escaping the Yellow Wallpaper.” Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 2003. www.highbeam.com

Hill, Mary H. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Making of a Radical Feminist.” The Journal of American History. December 1980.

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