Are women meant to be the housekeeper? :Theme

      

     In "The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Gilman is trying to show to anyone, but especially women, that one sex is not superior to the other sex. She thinks that men should not be able to keep a women inside and control her. She shows this through the character Jane. Jane is representing Gilman herself.  Jane is suffering the same thing that Gilman is suffering through. Gilman illustrates what is happening to her through Jane. Gilman is trying to show what happens to a lady when she is confined inside and told to do nothing but sleep. Gilman wants all people, especially men, to know that women are just as capable of doing things that men are able to do. She wants people to not treat women like pets and babies. In the story "The Yellow Wallpaper" john called Jane names like, "blessed little goose," and "little girl" (The Yellow Wallpaper 3 and 6)."For Gilman, the conventional nineteenth-century middle-class marriage, with its rigid distinction between the “domestic” functions of the female and the “active” work of the male, ensured that women remained second-class citizens " (sparks notes.com). Gilman doesn't want women to be the second-class citizens. She wants women to be just as successful as men, if not more successful. In the story, John was Jane's husband. John represented Gilman's doctor, who told her to stay in bed and rest."Although John could be seen as the domineering villain of the story, he is simply a reflection of his society" (gradesaver.com). John treats Jane like a child and does his best to keep Jane confined in her room like the society was treating women back in the day. Gilman shows that this simply makes Jane worst, like it did to her.  The theme or "a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic" (Dictonary.com), is to not let a group or person be superior to other people.  

Sparksnote. The Yellow Wallpaper. 
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/yellowwallpaper/themes.html 
This site gave me Gilman's opinion on the role of women in the nineteenth century.

Gradesaver. The Yellow Wallpaper Themes.  http://www.gradesaver.com/the-yellow-wallpaper/study-guide/major-themes/ 
This site show me the importance of John.