In 1913 Charlotte Perkins Gilman published, "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper,'" explaining that she herself had suffered for years from nervous problems that led to melancholia. After she had suffered for three years, she went to a noted specialist in nervous diseases who prescribed the "rest cure." Since she was physically healthy, her body responded to the rest and she was sent home with instructions to "live as domestic a life as possible" and to only have two hours of "intelligent life" a day.
Ms. Gilman embraced the new feminist movement that supported more independence and broader roles outside the home, roles that could exercise a woman's spirit and give her increased, not less "iintelligent life." Very avant-garde, Mis Gilman believed that women should be financially independent from men; she even promoted the idea that men and women should share domestic work--a most radical concept for the late 1800s. Her story, a testimony to her beliefs, caused some social furor at the time that it was published.
No comments:
Post a Comment