Analyzing the dispostion of female characters in the modern short Essay

Analyzing the dispostion of female characters in the modern short stories The Yellow Wall Paper by Charlotte Gilman and Rashmon by Akutagawa - Essay Example ess opportunities were scarce and yet women still often found it necessary to become the primary bread-winner of the family or their own only means of support. What people don’t always realize is that this was as common in the East as it was in the West, if not more so. These social conventions were not only held in place by the social restrictions on the gender, but also in the way that they were understood by outsiders. These concepts can be better understood by comparing two works such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s â€Å"Rashomon.† Neither story permits the female characters the individuality of a name, forcing them to become only a symbol for the entire gender, nor does the primary female have any choice for the conditions of her life. The woman protagonist in Gilman’s story is required to live an isolated life in the upper room of a very remote country house. Had she had any say in what might be best for her, she would have selected a downstairs room with flower vines growing up the wall and a door out to the garden. â€Å"I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! but John would not hear of it. He said there was only one window and not room for two beds, and no near room for him if he took another.† The room she is confined to is much different, decorated with ugly peeling yellow wallpaper and with bars on the windows blocking out the scenery outside. It is significant that the room is thought to have been a nursery because the woman is treated like a young child, not an adult capable of making her own decisions. â€Å"He [John] is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction. I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he takes all care from me.† With no options available to her other than to simply give in to the forces around her, the woman eventually comes