In the last half of the nineteenth century, Victorian ideals still held sway in American society, at least among members of the middle and upper classes. ... Mallard feels upon hearing of her husband's death through third person narration. ... Connected to their husbands, marriage became prison to many women; the only means of breaking free from these bonds was the death of a husband. ... While sitting downstairs, Mrs.Mallard grieves over the loss of her husband, and over her freedom. ... Mallard allows her emotions over her husband's death to flow freely. ...

• Word Count: 710
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The narrator of the story appears as the ideal wife, on the outside, but on the inside, she is really an individual just yearning to make herself free. ... When the narrator believes she is sick, her husband does not believe her. ... When her husband finally gets in the room, he is so surprised yet terrified at his wife's antics that he faints. ... One way to prevent the whole situation would have been if her husband had recognized the blatant facts. ... But her husband did not listen to her, and so it destroyed her in the end. ...

• Word Count: 839
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

She incorporates views and ideals of society into the work and gets her message across clearly. The relationship between the narrator and her husband would be disagreeable to a modern woman's relationship. ... John, the narrator's husband, is a prominent doctor and both his and his wife's words and actions reflect their relationship, "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage." ...

• Word Count: 470
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Jane has her opinions, but to no avail, she has to take her husband's orders. ... John behaves more as a paternal figure to Jane than a husband. ... "Blessed little goose-, it is not a name that a husband would call a wife. ... From now on, Louise will live for herself, free of her husband's control. ... It was a time of oppression for women, they were expected to conform to her husband's ideal and live under his control. ...

• Word Count: 1313
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

She hides her desire to write or do anything creative because as her husband claims, it would worsen her case. ... She seems bothered and confused with the methods which her husband, John, has been using to try and cure her. ... However, she is constantly concerned about her husband finding out that she has written a word. ... A marriage like this one is far from an ideal one. The narrator finds herself hiding her feelings as well as her actions from her husband. ...

• Word Count: 1134
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In Search for Independence and Self-Fulfillment In the last half of the nineteenth century, Victorian ideals still held sway in American society, at least among members of the middle and upper classes. ... She developed her feminist ideals in her novels, short stories and nonfiction books such as Women and Economics. ... John, the narrator's husband, never takes her seriously. ... Still, she manages to disobey her husband and write her journal without him knowing it. ... Her husband, Mr. ...

• Word Count: 2531
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

As hard as her poor husband tries to help her, he unknowingly drives her mad. ... The mother sinks into a still-deeper depression invisible to her husband, who believes he knows what is best for her. ... ("Guide-) That her husband, John, opposes her writing because it was not considered, to be the proper way a woman should act. Throughout the story, her sister- in-law, Jennie, seems a perfect example of a man's ideal woman. ... Her husband, John, is a well-known physician that uses his power to make his wife to believe she feels the way he thinks she should feel. ...

• Word Count: 1530
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

She is ignored and treated unkindly by her husband, leading to aggravation that is diagnosed as an "illness." ... In that time, the bed was a place where the man of the house was in charge, and any woman who would not obey the sexual "rights" of her husband was seen as ultimately wrong. ... However, she must have a very strong will, because no matter how hard she tries, the nails will not budge, and the bed will stay in its place, because the real thing that must be changed are the ideals of this male-dominated society. ... They stand for every woman who feels confined to the wants of a man;...

• Word Count: 1101
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

"The Yellow Wallpaper", written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story of a woman, her psychological difficulties and her husband's so called therapeutic treatment of her aliments during the late 1800s. ... The story mentions that she has an older brother who is also a physician and concurs with her husbands theory, thus leaving her no choice but to subject herself to this torment of being totally alone in this room with the yellow wallpaper. ... The narrator made attempts to bring to her husband's attention what she felt was a better way of making her better but he refused to...

• Word Count: 1224
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

An ailment her husband and brother has diagnosed. ... This shows how controlling John is over her as both husband and doctor. ... Her husband refuses to accept that she may have a real problem. Her husband suggests enormous amounts of bed rest and no human interaction at all. ... The husband and Jane were symbolic of society. ...

• Word Count: 2055
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is an account of a mentally disturbed woman, Jane, and her husband's attempts to help her get well by convincing her that continual seclusion and constant bed rest is the only way to cure her psychological condition. ... The wallpaper itself, which is intended to portray the characteristics of the ideal woman, is the narrator's source of madness. ... This can be seen in the fact that her husband believes that she is recovering, when in actuality she is getting worse. ... As this breakdown is nearing, she starts ...

• Word Count: 1237
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School