Explain Gilman’s passage which begins with the line “the horse, in his free natural condition, is economically independent.” In addition, discuss today’s world using Gilman’s perspective and answer whether you think Gilman’s theory is still relevant.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Gilman maintains that her economic dependency makes the woman more akin to a horse than an equal partner in traditional marriage. He gets his living by his own exertions irrespective of any other creature. The horse, in his present condition of slavery, is economically dependent. He gets his living at the hands of his master; and his exertions, though strenuous, bear no direct relation to his living. . . . The horse works, it is true; but what he gets to eat depends on the power and will of his master. His living comes through another. He is economically dependent. In short, like a horse, women are subject to the “power and will of another” because their domestic labor, for which no wages are received in return, belongs not to themselves but to their husbands. Women are thus rendered economically dependent. Students’ individual answers regarding the contemporary world will vary but could include the following: a woman’s (esp. white) position in society has improved due to new occupational roles, the lessening ( not extinct) marriage expectation, and certain rights (i.e.right to vote). However, women still get paid less than men in the same position, suffer more sexual harassment in the workplace, still are expected to be “feminine”, have children, be good mothers, get married, and never “lose their looks.” Progress has been made, but the paradigm Gilman speaks of is still alive in today’s United States.