Discuss and compare the theme of oppression within The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Oppression and subsequent liberation is evident in both texts, however, the type and measure of the oppression varies even though both protagonists are subject to their husbands barbarity; The Bloody Chamber has significantly more violence and distinguishable abuse whereas within The Yellow Wallpaper more emotional suffering is inflicted, hence the snowballing effect of the protagonist’s madness. The Bloody Chamber features copious amounts of sexual oppression and abuse inflicted by the Marquis onto his young wife; the text itself is highly sexualised in nature with the title eluding to the female genitalia. Carter draws from societal constraints regarding female sexuality and explores how the young wife did enjoy her first encounter with the Marquis; the wife’s narrative of the event provides insight into female sexuality although it is not presented to provide sexual pleasure but rather provide the wife with a platform to express her own carnal desires .In contrast to the overt sexualisation within The Bloody Chamber, the female protagonist within The Yellow Wallpaper is infantilised by John and is not perceived as an object of desire. Her treatment is kept from her, removing her bodily autonomy; “So I take phosphates or phosphites—whichever it is,” her lack of knowledge of her medicines further emphasised how the protagonist was infantilised. Reducing the protagonist to a childlike state, being continually rebuked by her husband, accentuates the vast control that John has over her; using derogative terminology and calling her “little girl,” enforces the hierarchical nature of their marriage. Within both texts, there is constant surveillance of the protagonists, by John and Jennie in The Yellow Wallpaper and by the Marquis and the blind piano tuner in The Bloody Chamber. This constant monitoring contributed to the madness that took hold of the protagonist in The Yellow Wallpaper, the decline of her mental ability is documented within her diary, worsening as the exposure to the surveillance increases.
Gillman’s protagonist is punished and excluded from taking part in activities that bring her joy, similar to the treatment of a naughty child. The narrator states ‘John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage,’ she is trying to normalise the behaviour and accepts being demeaned by her husband with little resistance in order to maintain the allusion of their comfortable marriage. Within both texts there is mention of physical oppression and restraint, within The Bloody Chamber the Marquis had restraints which he inflicted upon his wives both in life and in their passing, the equivalent is apparent within The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator describes how ‘There are rings and things in the walls,’ therefore suggesting that she too was subjected to physical as well as mental restraint. Therefore, within both texts, there is significant portrayal of oppression, within The Bloody Chamber it is more overtly depicted compared to within The Yellow Wallpaper, however, it can nevertheless be concluded that both female protagonists did encounter oppression, and that it was at the hands of their husbands on both occasions.