Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes literary portrayals of women in the 19th century. It particularly focuses on two contrasting examples in literature: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's work, "The Yellow Wallpaper" and William Dean Howells' work, "Editha." It discusses the portrayal and oppression of the women in the novels and discusses how this portrayal was relevant to understanding the lives of women at the time. It also looks how these particular women dealt with their feelings of oppression.

From the Paper:

"The roles of women have changed throughout history, but perhaps never so drastically as during the 19th century. Literature from the times gives good insight as to the lives of women, how they lived and what was expected of them. Popular 19th century literature is full of advice about proper house keeping, the piousness of housework, as well as what a woman's daily duties should be. Women were expected to keep their home clean, bake, provide three meals a day, mend clothing, raise children, and keep up gardens and farms, as well as keeping their homes presentable and pleasant to their husbands. These were only a few of the many duties and tasks assigned to the majority of women in the 19th century. Although it has been shown that the majority of women were very unhappy in this lifestyle, many were powerless to do anything about it. There were however some women writers who wrote about the different situations these women were faced with, in an attempt to bring on change, equality, and equal opportunities in all arenas."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Howells, William Dean. Editha. New York: Creative Co. SD, 1997.
• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

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