Firstly, most of the characters in this piece are male, while the minority, female characters, play weak and submissive roles. Ford writes, for example: «John is identified first in relation to the patriarchy and only later in relation to his wife: he is 'a high-ranking doctor and her own husband'. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the doctor is the man par excellence, and his speech, therefore, is the epitome of male speech” ( ). Gilman obviously shows us how society saw the man, but also how she saw him. John was not only the patriarchal figure, but he was also the “voice of reason” who blocked his wife's imagination and expressiveness. This “voice of reason” would make him the foil to Gilman's narrator because she is the voice of madness. It is therefore understood that it is men who hold power, just as gender roles have always allowed it