Mental Disorders In The Yellow Wallpaper

The yellow wallpaper in the room shows, symbolically, the narrator was being oppressed. The narrator hated the wallpaper because she saw herself as a prisoner of her own husband. Spending so much time in the room, the narrator studied the wallpaper in details and found the wallpaper somewhat represents her. "There is one place where two breadths didn't match, and the eyes go all up and down the line, one a little higher than the other" (pg280), "Such a peculiar odor, too" (pg 285) etc. The confusing pattern, the bar, the woman behind the bar, and the yellow color of the wallpaper allowed her to feel so helpless, as if she was a bird

The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is told she needs to rest constantly to overcome her sickness, so she is forced to stay in the old nursery where there is yellow-orange wallpaper with a busy, obnoxious pattern that she hates. She tries to study the wallpaper to distinguish the pattern, and as time goes on she believes she sees a woman moving around in the background of the pattern. Also, during this period of time the character’s condition is worsening, because her husband is causing her mind to weaken by not allowing her to exert herself at all; he says she is not to think about her condition, walk through the garden or visit family. All she can do is sleep and trace the wallpaper, and being cooped up in the room causes her to begin hallucinating. The narrator sees the woman trying to escape from the wallpaper throughout the night, and she ultimately completely breaks down and believes that she is the woman.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” a short story about a mentally ill women,written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman at age 32, in 1892 is a story with a hidden meaning and many truths. Charlotte Perkins Gilman coincidentally also had a mental illness and developed cancer leading her to kill herself in the sixties. The story begins with Jane, the mentally ill woman who feels a bit distressed, and although both of the well respected men in her life are physicians she is put simply on a “rest cure”. This rest cure as well as many symbols such as the Yellow Wallpaper, her journal, and her inevitable breakdown are prime examples of the typical life of a woman in this time period and their suppressed lives that they lived even with something as serious as a

In the 1950’s, women weren’t respected for doing anything besides being an outstanding wife and mother. Women and men weren’t on the same level when it came to rights in the eyes of the law. Also during this time, mental illnesses were not accurately researched, and since doctors weren’t fully aware of all the information about mental illnesses, patients did not always get the best treatment and were treated as freaks. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both of these elements are present. Gilman did a wonderful job portraying how women are not taken seriously and how lightly mental illnesses are taken. Gilman had, too, had firsthand experience with the physician in the story. Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's believes that there really was no difference in means of way of thinking between men or women is strongly. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story about a woman who has a mental illness but cannot heal due to her husband 's lack of belief. The story appears to happen during a time period where women were mistreated. Women were treated as second rate people in community during this time period. Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows the thought process of the community during the time period in which “The Yellow Wallpaper” is written. Using knowledge on equal rights between women and men, one can carefully study “The Yellow Wallpaper” by

In the story, the wall was completely covered in yellow wallpaper, but it can be inferred that imagery was used by the author to explain that the wallpaper represents women in the late 19th century that they were under controlled by men having no rights of freedom. The wallpaper in the story was described in patterns seen by the wife throughout the story. It described that the wife saw a woman trapped behind bars, which this is a form of imagery since it is trying to show readers that the women in bars is the wife being held in

The yellow wallpaper represents society. The gates you see her in front of the background image symbolize freedom. The lights illuminating right through the window represents the power of men. The woman behind the gates seeks escape the control of men. Also, as it becomes more complex, she begins to see women behind it which shows the problem is worse and she become more mentally unstable. “Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over ( Gilman 9).” women trailing behind the picture shows it feels confined to the walls of the room. The narrator breaks yellow wallpaper not willing to accept how bad is her mental state. ' 'I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus—but John says the very worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So I will let it alone and talk about the house ' '( Gilman ). This statement reveals the wishes of the narrator want to think independently. Here we can see how women of 19th century thought. women prefer not to think about their condition rather than fight his place in society.

All throughout history there has been a stigma around mental illness and feminism. “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the 1900’s. “The Yellow Wallpaper” has many hidden truths within the story. The story was an embellished version her own struggle with what was most likely post-partum depression. As the story progresses, one can see that she is not receiving proper treatment for her depression and thus it is getting worse. Gilman uses the wallpaper and what she sees in it to symbolize her desire to escape her depression and the controlling nature of the patriarchal society of the twentieth century. The story shows an inside look into the thoughts and feelings of a person with a mental illness such as depression. Gilman also uses symbolism to showcase how the male figures in her life had control over her well-being more than she did. Both her husband and doctor hindered her from healing by not listening to her when she expressed what she felt would help her. She does not clearly say that she feels overwhelmed by the patriarchal society of the 1900’s; however, one can infer this by her wording and actions throughout the course of the story. Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses “The Yellow Wallpaper” to reveal the truths of a woman’s everyday struggles in a patriarchal society and also the deeper struggles of a woman with depression.

They show the limitations of women in society. She has to sit all day in the room, with no intellectual stimulation and have to see the bars on the window and realize there is no escaping the oppression of the female gender. There is even another room in the house that leads to a beautiful terrace and floral garden, but her husband refuses to let her leave the creepy, decaying, and trapping room. This is a clear symbol for the persecution of women. Finally, the nailed down bed represents sexual repression of women. Sexual liberation was not a common idea of the times, especially for the protagonist. According to Rula Quawas, “In a society that perceives women as childlike, irrational, and sexually unstable, it is certainly possible to see madness as a desirable form of rebellion against confinement rather than seeing it as the desperate communication of the powerless.” Sex is shown little to no interest by the narrator. It is only alluded to when it becomes clear that the protagonist is suffering from postpartum depression, and shows little interest in her child. Sex for the protagonist has only lead to her struggle with mental illness, an illness her “caring” husband denies is truly what is wrong with the narrator. She has no freedom with her body and mind, and her exploration (or lack thereof) has only lead to a loveless relationship with her child and a struggle with depression. This keeps her trapped in her

The narrator obviously is healthy and sane the beginning of the story but as she writes her journal begin to be questionable. She presents a slow decline in her health as she fantasizes about the yellow wallpaper. The longer the narrator stays in the room the worse she gets. She sees a women behind the wallpaper trying to escape. Some readers may feel like the women behind the wallpaper is a symbol of herself in her own confinement and her desire to be free.

The yellow wallpaper is a symbol of oppression in a woman who felt her duties were limited as a wife and mother. The wallpaper shows a sign of female imprisonment. Since the wallpaper is always near her, the narrator begins to analyze the reasoning behind it. Over time, she begins to realize someone is behind the

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story that portrays a mentally ill young woman. The story is illustrated in first person, narrated by the woman’s point of view. The woman suffers through a nervous depression, and is spending three months in a rented old mansion with her husband and family. Based on her descriptions of her stay, one can tell that she was being oppressed, treated unjustly like many women in this time period. She is oppressed through three connected things, her mental illness, the room in which she is staying, and her husband.

According to The Washington Post, “About 20 percent of American adults suffer some sort of mental illness each year, and about 5 percent experience a serious disorder that disrupts work, family, or social life” (Brown). People with these mental disorders and illnesses were not recognized, treated, and dealt with until the early 1900s. The Yellow Wallpaper is one of the first public sources that talks about the damage these illnesses have on a person. Charlotte Perkins Gilman suffered from a mental illness herself, postpartum depression, which lead her to write the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Before she published this story, hardly anyone knew anything about these illnesses or what it was like to live with one.

The yellow wallpaper is symbolized by being an imprisonment to the narrator. She asked if it could be taken down, but is told no and is stuck in the room with it. Throughout the story the narrator's opinions and feelings of the wallpaper start to change. At the beginning she describes it as unpleasant, and is ripped, soiled, and an “unclean yellow.” The pattern of the wallpaper is what draws the most attention to her. She tries to figure out how the pattern is organized and the meaning it represents. After staring at the paper for many hours she starts to see a ghostly figure behind the pattern, but only in certain light. The wallpaper eventually starts to resemble a desperate woman who is looking for freedom because she is trapped. The narrator realizes that her husband's treatment is not working for her and sees the wallpaper as a prison she is stuck in. The story describes it saying “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be (Gilman).” She eventually becomes obsessed with the wallpaper and realizes that she is the woman behind bars in the wallpaper who can not

One major influence in Gilman’s life that led her to write The Yellow Wallpaper was her own mental illness and post-partum depression. Gilman was first diagnosed with a mental illness while she was married to Charles Stetson, during 1884 and 1894. On March 23rd, 1885 Gilman gave birth to Katherine Beecher Stetson, during that time motherhood often consumed her time, resulting her to let go of her ambitions. Gilman often questioned why childbearing was one only by women she stated, “Men have as much right to raise children as women do” (qtd. in Schlesinger Library). Gilman was always critical about her lifestyles and decisions. It is then noticeable that both narrator and author share the same pain and misery of post-partum depression. Readers

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story set in a 19th century colonial mansion, in which the narrator and her husband stay for the summer. The narrator, who is unnamed, is undergoing a rest cure for some kind of mental illness after giving birth. This mental illness is now known as postpartum depression. Rest cure involves doing absolutely nothing and this triggered the further deterioration of the narrator’s mental health. Her husband, John, monitors her condition while they stay in the mansion. She is confined in a room— supposedly a nursery room— with barred windows and scratches on the floor. The most noticeable feature of the room by the narrator is the yellow wallpaper. Each day, her description of the yellow wallpaper becomes more disturbing; from being just plain wallpaper to being a prison cell for trapped women, shaking the bars, wanting to be free from it. Instead of getting well from the rest cure, the narrator’s mental state worsened as what is depicted in her journal entries. She eventually goes mad and her husband fainted from the sight of her condition.