Viviana Rojas
Professor Briseño
Writing 10 section 4
April 24, 2013
Final Draft
The Real Meaning of Beauty
What is inner beauty? Inner beauty does not rely on physical beauty alone. In the
documentary Miss Representation directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom women are portrayed as
objects from the media and society. Women are criticized, but especially those women who have
power are criticized even more, just because they have power. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s
short story, “If I were a Man” the protagonist is a female named Mollie Mathewson. Mollie takes
charge of her husband Gerald’s body and impersonates him for a while because she wants to be a
man and see how it is. She realizes that she has gained her confidence and is able to see the
world from a different perspective Also in Gilman’s other story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” the
protagonist is again a female her name is never revealed throughout the story. She is married to
John who is also her physician because she suffers from a “mental breakdown.” What is likely
happening to her is that she is going through post-pardon depression because she just had her
child. This woman struggles with her identity and her role as a wife in her own home because her
husband treats her like a child when in fact she a woman with a child. Women can and will rise
from the stereotypes existing in popular culture today, however women will have to realize the
real meaning of beauty which is determined by intelligence, self-confidence, and self-reliance;
women will discover that the real meaning of beauty does not rely on physical beauty alone.
Rojas 2
In today’s society women need to be strong, assertive, and independent in order to survive this
Patriarchal country, where women are seen as “Others.” In the Documentary Miss
Representation it summed up how women are constantly being objectified by men and society.
The documentary basically states that media only uses women for their, “youth, beauty and
sexuality.” The documentary showed many big corporations and companies with great prestige
objectifying women. The documentary mentioned Ralph Lauren how the woman in the front
cover was only used for her body and beauty to advertise for the product they were selling. In
this situation is it clear that the lady is not seen as a woman, but more of a thing and object. The
saddest part of this advertisement is that that picture of the women in the cover was edited to
make her look thinner than what she really is. Moreover, most women in general are criticized
for anything they do right or wrong. For instance, in the documentary a young girl states in tears
how she has always suffered because of what media makes her younger siblings define as
beauty, that one must be a certain height, look a certain way, and act in a certain way just
because they are women. There are different solutions the documentary offers and one of them is
being wise enough to realize what beauty is and how it should be defined by women, not society.
Furthermore, in Gilman’s short story, “If I were a Man” Mollie the protagonist enters her
husband Gerald’s body and realizes that she does not have to be beautiful from the outside to be
beautiful from the inside. At first her appearance did matter to Mollie because it was the first
thing she noticed. In the short story it mentions, “a funny sense of size and weight and extra
thickness, the feet and hands seemed strangely large, and her long, straight free legs swung
forward” (Gilman 303). In this quote Gilman is very descriptive in her details to emphasis the
way Mollie looks and feels. She does this so the reader can try to put themselves in the
protagonist shoes. Also to demonstrate how Mollie’s appearance bothered her. Mollie’s new
Rojas 3
appearance of Gerald’s body bothered her because as mentioned in the beginning of the short
story, “Pretty, of course no-true women could possibly be plain. Whimsical, capricious,
charming, changeable, devoted to pretty clothes and always wearing them well” (Gilman 302).
This shows how important appearance is to Mollie and how beautiful she thought of herself.
However, even though she was not beautiful in Gerald’s body, she was able to focus and interact
with the conversation the men in the trolley had about women. Before this experience she
focused on her looks and especially on the hats women were expected to wear. She discovers
that they are ridiculous and a waste of money. Now Mollie starts to see the word differently she
can do things on her own and her looks do not matter anymore. In addition, Mollie has gain selfconfidence in who she is because she has never owned her own money or worked for her own
money. Mollie feels so happy because in the short story Gilman states, “She felt what she had
never felt before in all her life- the possession of money, of her own earned money” (Gilman
303-304). She was making her own decisions without asking anybody for their opinion. When
she finds the wallet in her back pocket she becomes a different person. The wallet symbolizes a
sense of freedom which women desired. When she played the role of the man she was intelligent
enough to realize that it is men’s fault and their expectations towards women and their hats that
women feel that being a woman must include the silly hat. Mollie discovered that men always
criticize women, but yet they expect them to wear the hats. She no longer relies on anybody and
gains her self reliance which helps her become a better person.
Also, in Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” as mentioned before the protagonist is
going through a “mental breakdown” mental breakdown that her husband and the other physician
defined as, but her reality is another. She most likely suffers from post-pardon depression as the
protagonist states, “I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time. Of course I don’t when John is
Rojas 4
here, or anybody else, but when I am alone. And I am alone a good deal just now” (Gilman 172).
This shows how her depression is leading to the ‘mental breakdown.” This type of depression
tends to hit women who have recently had a child of their own. She is suggested not only by her
husband who is her physician, but also by another physician to stop writing because that is the
reason she is going through her “mental breakdown.” They suggest her to focus more on
housewife things such as her family and chores. The protagonist’s physical appearance is never
mentioned, but according to how her personality is described which his of calmness, sadness,
and just overwhelmed she seems to be a lost soul. However, regardless of how she looks or even
dresses that is one of her least worries. That is not one of her priories because as the narrator
states she only focuses on the yellow wall paper and the lady in black as stated, “The color is
repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning
light” (Gilman 168). This is important because the narrator focuses on the color and details of the
room that is what is more important to her. The author decides to use description here to show
that the narrator does not focus on her appearance. These words were chosen carefully to provide
imagery to the reader which it did. With these details her appearance does not matter to her. The
narrator never mentions anything about makeup, hair, or even her outfit so it did not matter to
narrator.
Moreover, she is able to come out of her insanity with her intelligence. She was smart to
make wise decisions to never stop writing even though she was told by people who were
supposed to be well educated. She was seen by her peers and her husband as someone
vulnerable. Her husband John treats her like a child instead of his wife. Throughout the short
story her husband calls her his child and at time she enjoys him taking care of her because the
“mental breakdown” is getting to her. For instance, the author states in the short story, “Then he
Rojas 5
took me in his arms and called me a blessed little goose” (Gilman 169). She gained her selfconfidence in the end when she confronts her reflection and then her husband. She gains courage
because someone in her state being would not be able to do that. She has the ability to write, to
express herself, and she is able to see a reflection of herself in the woman in black. She is able to
survive her struggle without relying on physical beauty, but more on inner beauty which is
intelligence. However, she does achieve in the end when she destroys the wall paper but, critics
may suggest that she did not because in the end she went crazy as stated, “in spite of you and
Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t but me back! And right across my path
by the wall, so that I had creep over him every time” (Gilman 182)! Yes this indicates that she
has hit the mental breakdown point, but compared to all the lonely days, the cries, and the entire
period of the “mental breakdown” she gained herself back because in the end she destroys the
yellow wall paper and also manages to confront her fear of the women in black and also her
husband who in the end she refers to as a young man not John, “It is no use, young man, you
can’t open it” (Gilman 182)! The protagonist here realizes her reality and what had happened to
her she no longer trust John because she is now doing the same thing he did to her. She is
crawling all over him and calling him a young man. She is really intelligent to realize this
because by now her “mental breakdown” might be real.
Physical beauty alone does not go well with women. Women have always encountered
problems especially if they do not follow the norms of society. They are constantly being
criticized by how they look. Change has come and women are starting to see what really matters.
Sadly today mainstream media is used in the wrong way. Women are being objectified and when
this happens they lose their intelligence, self-confidence, and self-reliance, however, change has
come slowly but it has arrived.
Rojas 6
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “Herland, The Yellow Wallpaper, and Selected Writings.” Penguin
Books. New York. 1999. Page 166-182
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, “If I Were a Man”. Web. 04 Apr. 2013
Newsom, Jennifer Siebel. Miss Representation. Jennifer Siebel. DVD. 2011.