Many different representations of gender roles have existed at all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes, the representation of the common aspects and traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal way. However, when one gender expects the other to do their part and is unhappy with the results and demands more, things can go from normal to extreme quite quickly. This request is most commonly attributed by men within literary works. Examples of this can be seen in "A Streetcar Named Desire", by Tennessee Williams, where Stella is constantly abused and abused by her drunken husband Stanley, and also in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, where the narrator is stated unsuitable by her husband because she suffers from some sort of depression, and is generally despised for other reasons. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman carefully crafted his phrases and metaphors to instill an image of lurid and disturbing male oppression. The surface of the text contains clues about Gilman's perception of the treatment and roles of women, the narrator stumbles over words like "phosphates", she is uncertain whether the correct term was "phosphates or phosphites" (Gilman 1684), which clearly shows that in her day women had been neglected in education and since for a time only men had that privilege, they were able to learn what they had to in order to earn a job, which is illustrated by the fact that her husband and brother they were both “a physician” of high standing” (Gilman 1684). The character that Gilman created has the qualities and traits of the Victorian woman......center of the card......and. While “The Yellow Wallpaper” primarily touches on the treatment of women in Gilman's time and only primarily addresses how bad the reception was for them while the men of his world were highly respected individuals, “A Streetcar Named Desire” comments on the gender roles of masculinity and femininity as a whole, including the two different representations of masculinity and femininity. how femininity was still generally despised by American society in the late 1940s, sadly noting that not much had changed in the time between past stories. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The yellow background." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 1684-1695. Williams, Tennessee. "A Streetcar Named Desire." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 2337-2398.