Discuss the ways in which Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Katherine
Mansfield explore society’s expectations of middle class women at the
turn of the 20th century.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Katherine Mansfield’s short stories, The Yellow
Wallpaper (1892) and Bliss (1918), both explore societal expectations and the way in
which women are repressed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
when the first wave of feminism and the Suffrage movement began. Both authors
seek to criticise the disparate treatment of women in order for the protagonists to fit
in. For example, both characters are regarded as, and feel like, second class citizens
as they only have the options to stay at home, pander to their husbands and produce
children; they are isolated. This is due to their overpowering and coercive husbands
being in control. Their lack of autonomy, loss of freedom and the inability to make
decisions for themselves make the characters experience isolation and frustration at
being ignored.
The expectation for middle class women around the turn of the 20th century was for
them to get married and have children, but to have a nanny raise them. Whilst this
takes away the burdens and responsibilities of motherhood, it does, however, also
take away the sense of maternal joy that being with a child brings. In Bliss, Mansfield
observes that the baby ‘looked up when she saw her mother and began to jump,’
suggesting that the connection between a baby and a mother should be exciting and
fulfilling. However, the nanny ‘[set] her lips in a way that Bertha knew, and that
meant she had come into the nursery at another wrong moment,’ suggesting that the
nanny disapproves and is jealous of the mother’s interaction with the baby. This envy
is further seen when the nanny is ‘very offended’ by Bertha feeding her own child, as
her ability to do her job is questioned. Mansfield's use of ‘another’ highlights the
ongoing battle for power over the baby which is demeaning for both women as it is
symbolic of their need for control in their lives. Sadly, it is only in the area of
domesticity that this control can exist. When Bertha has control of the baby, she
appears uncertain of what to do with it, saying ‘you’re nice - you’re nice…I’m fond of
you. I like you.’ The understatement of her love demonstrates her awkwardness with
her own child. The use of bland language such as ‘nice,’ ‘fond’ and ‘like’ illustrates her
lack of emotional attachment. Mansfield’s use of the dash and ellipsis to indicate
hesitation and uncertainty shows Bertha’s difficulty in finding words, as if society has
forced Bertha into an uncomfortable role that she is neither ready nor prepared for.
In contrast to Bliss, Perkins Gilman’s characterisation of the nanny in The Yellow
Wallpaper is more positive. The narrator says, ‘it is fortunate Mary is so good with
the baby,’ implying that the mother does not interfere with the nanny’s role. The
Mansfield explore society’s expectations of middle class women at the
turn of the 20th century.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Katherine Mansfield’s short stories, The Yellow
Wallpaper (1892) and Bliss (1918), both explore societal expectations and the way in
which women are repressed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
when the first wave of feminism and the Suffrage movement began. Both authors
seek to criticise the disparate treatment of women in order for the protagonists to fit
in. For example, both characters are regarded as, and feel like, second class citizens
as they only have the options to stay at home, pander to their husbands and produce
children; they are isolated. This is due to their overpowering and coercive husbands
being in control. Their lack of autonomy, loss of freedom and the inability to make
decisions for themselves make the characters experience isolation and frustration at
being ignored.
The expectation for middle class women around the turn of the 20th century was for
them to get married and have children, but to have a nanny raise them. Whilst this
takes away the burdens and responsibilities of motherhood, it does, however, also
take away the sense of maternal joy that being with a child brings. In Bliss, Mansfield
observes that the baby ‘looked up when she saw her mother and began to jump,’
suggesting that the connection between a baby and a mother should be exciting and
fulfilling. However, the nanny ‘[set] her lips in a way that Bertha knew, and that
meant she had come into the nursery at another wrong moment,’ suggesting that the
nanny disapproves and is jealous of the mother’s interaction with the baby. This envy
is further seen when the nanny is ‘very offended’ by Bertha feeding her own child, as
her ability to do her job is questioned. Mansfield's use of ‘another’ highlights the
ongoing battle for power over the baby which is demeaning for both women as it is
symbolic of their need for control in their lives. Sadly, it is only in the area of
domesticity that this control can exist. When Bertha has control of the baby, she
appears uncertain of what to do with it, saying ‘you’re nice - you’re nice…I’m fond of
you. I like you.’ The understatement of her love demonstrates her awkwardness with
her own child. The use of bland language such as ‘nice,’ ‘fond’ and ‘like’ illustrates her
lack of emotional attachment. Mansfield’s use of the dash and ellipsis to indicate
hesitation and uncertainty shows Bertha’s difficulty in finding words, as if society has
forced Bertha into an uncomfortable role that she is neither ready nor prepared for.
In contrast to Bliss, Perkins Gilman’s characterisation of the nanny in The Yellow
Wallpaper is more positive. The narrator says, ‘it is fortunate Mary is so good with
the baby,’ implying that the mother does not interfere with the nanny’s role. The
