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Postpartum Depression In The Yellow Wallpaper By Plath And Gilman

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Both Plath and Gilman chose to use their psychologically damaged protagonists as a vessel to reflect on the various struggles faced in their own personal lives, alongside the personal impact of the contextual pressures and demands of society. In the Victorian setting of The Yellow Wallpaper, a woman’s ultimate role in society was to be a wife and mother. In earlier centuries it would have been common for a woman to work alongside her husband or brothers in the family business. By living in apartments above the family ‘shop’ wives became able to assist with general shop work whilst also attending to their regular domestic duties. However as the nineteenth century progressed it became increasingly common for the husbands to acquire higher profile jobs in the city, which were unavailable …show more content…

Postpartum depression is a form of clinical depression that can affect both sexes after the birth of a child. Many women experience mild symptoms after childbirth, however postpartum depression should only be suspected if the symptoms are severe and have lasted longer than two weeks. The emotional effects of postpartum depression can include anxiety relating to caring for the child, a feeling of loss of control over life, sleep deprivation, and anxiety due to a lack of support from a romantic or sexual partner. Gilman’s protagonist clearly demonstrates several of these symptoms; When briefly discussing her child, the author uses the exclamatory sentence “Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous”, therefore exemplifying both the anxiety for taking care of the “dear

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