Exploring Feminine Subjugation and Liberation: A Comparative Analysis of Gender Roles and Patriarchal Constraints in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour”

Abstract

The major problem of how women live in a society devoid of freedom, where they are repressed, subordinated, and denied rights. Women are still treated unfairly in modern culture, despite the fact that their views are heard. Similarly, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" illustrates the struggles women face to assert personal identity. And in "The Story of an Hour," the heroine is dominated by her husband. Sadly, the predominance of men in practically every sector of society, including Politics, Economics, Education, and even Psychology, significantly restricts their freedom. The aim is to elevate women to equal status with men in society. Women have made a variety of attempts to express their desires. The goal is to challenge men's domination or at the very least, elevate women to a status where they are on par with males in society, as patriarchal culture has kept women at the bottom of the social hierarchy. This article focuses on women’s role, loss of identity, their unhappy married lives, and the search for individuality in the face of social norms.