“At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want – for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war.” - Published Writing #3

The concept of egalitarianism is the belief that all human beings are equal, no matter their gender, race or color. Being equal, all humans should have the same rights and equal opportunities in life. No one should have to fight to be treated equally. Although equality is a strong belief among the majority of humankind today, it has not always been this way. Martin Luther King once said “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” By saying this, Martin Luther King is underlining the fact that oppression cannot be defeated by silence. One must take a stand and fight for what they believe. If one stays in silence and waits for freedom, then they shall never be freed. Similarly Eleanor Roosevelt once said “At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want – for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war.” The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins-Gillman, manifests the most powerful form of oppression of all time: Silence. The form of silence that is not forced by violence or imperialism, but rather the dictatorship of men.

 “The Yellow Wallpaper” illustrates the story of a woman who is being isolated from the company of others, following a “rest cure” given by her husband, who is also her psychiatrist. The woman has no way of expressing herself except for her writing, which she has strictly been forbidden to do. ”I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal - having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition.” (Perkins-Gilman page 316) She is experiencing a form of entrapment, but in a non-hostile environment. The woman continues to resist her husband’s attempt at silencing her by secretly writing when he is away. “I MUST say what I feel and think in some way- it is such a relief!” (Perkins-Gilman 321) The woman’s statement underlines how important self-expression is. Being forced to inactivity and not being able to have a say in any detail of her life, the women is consequently driven to insanity by this very omnipotent form of oppression. 

In March, The Guardian published an excerpt about silence from Rebecca Solnit’s book, “The Mother Of All Questions”, entitled “Silence and powerlessness go hand in hand – women’s voices must be heard.” This excerpt relates to gender inequality and, similar to the theme in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, how a woman is often forced to silence in different ways. “Silence is what allows people to suffer without recourse, what allows hypocrisies and lies to grow and flourish, crimes to go unpunished. If our voices are essential aspects of our humanity, to be rendered voiceless is to be dehumanized or excluded from one’s humanity. And the history of silence is central to women’s history. (Solnit) Rebecca explores what it means to be silenced and the consequences it brings forth. The right to express ourselves is what makes us human, if that right is taken away, can we really be considered human beings? Egalitarianism and feminism are two words that have the exact same meaning: The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. If women are deprived of their right to speak, we are not equal, but far from it.

Works Cited

Perkin-Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Norton Introduction To Literature, 10th  ed., W.W. Norton & Company , Inc, 2006, pp. 315–328.

Solnit, Rebecca. “Silence and Powerlessness Go Hand in Hand – Women's Voices Must Be Heard | Rebecca Solnit.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Mar. 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/08/silence-powerlessness-womens-voices-rebecca-solnit.