This story is about a woman who fights for her right to express what she feels, and fights for her right to do what she wants to do. The narrator in this short story is a woman whose husband loves her very much, but treats her with such neglect that she cannot take it anymore. This story revolves around the main character, her oppressed life, and her search for freedom.
There are different male influences in this woman's life and although they may mean no harm, they eventually push her over the edge. The main character's husband, John, and her brother are well-known physicians. They use their power to control the main character, whose name we never learn, to feel what they think a woman should feel. For example, the woman tells the men she is sick, but they believe differently. The men under the impression that what they say goes and therefore the woman has no illustrates that the men are in control. If they strongly believe nothing is wrong, then nothing must be wrong. It is a feeling of self-satisfaction the men feel when they are superior to the woman.
The main character knows John loves her, but it is the oppression she feels that bothers her so. Her husband expresses his love for her but at the same time imposes his will on her. He hinders her from having our own thoughts. John did not let her have any freedom because he was always there. John acts as if he knows what the main character feels at all the times. The main character had absolutely no freedom, for her husband would let nothing happen unless he was there to supervise. An example of this treatment is when she wanted to get out of the house and visit some cousins, but John insisted she really did not want to go. The main character understands her husband loves her, but he insists on her doing what he wants her to do. John has absolutely no idea how his wife feels, he just imposes his ways on her and expects her to abide.