Charlotte Perkins Gilman
July 3, 1860 - August 17, 1935
Gilman as a Feminist
- She grew up with no father, and was surrounded by her feminist aunts (Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin; Cahterine Beecher, feminist; and Isabella Beecher Hooker, feminist)
- During her youth she considered herself a "tomboy" and did not have many female friends
- She believed that the environment naturally oppressed women and addressed Darwinism, stating that it only focused on male evolution
- In 1988, she published Women and Economics, which stated that women are subjugated by men and that common household duties such as cooking and cleaning should be professionalized
- She became a well known feminist and spoke on subjects such as educating women to be independent at a young age, young men splitting the housework with the women, and women working outside of the home
- Other major works that include feminist ideas are "The Home," Human Work, and The Man-Made World
"There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. Might as well speak of a female liver."
-Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Life of Charlotte
- Gilman was abandoned by her father after birth
- Her mother was not affectionate in hopes of her daughter not being dependent upon human affection later in life
- She supported herself in her 20's but soon married artist Charles Walter Stetson
- They had a daughter together, but Gilman soon was overtaken by postpartum depression
- She soon got a divorce and moved to California
- Gilman become more active in the feminism movement and began her career as an author
Women and Economics
Her view on women in the working society at the time
"The Yellow Wallpaper"
Her most famous story
Man Made World
A feminist perspective on women's position in households
Works Cited
"Gilman, Charlotte Perkins." Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
Stone, Les. "Charlotte (Anna) Perkins (Stetson) Gilman." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
Picture Sources
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/30/herland-forgotten-feminist-classic-about-civilisation-without-men
http://www.thingsmeanalot.com/2010/06/man-made-world-by-charlotte-perkins.html
http://roela.edu.glogster.com/charlotte-perkins-gilman/
http://msmagazine.com/blog/2011/03/25/whats-behind-charlotte-perkins-gilmans-yellow-wallpaper/