The Yellow Wallpaper, By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” tells the story of a woman suffering from post-partum depression, undergoing the sexist psychological treatments of mental health, that took place during the late nineteenth century. The narrator in Gilman’s story writes about being forced to do nothing, and how that she feels that is the worst possible treatment for her. In this particular scene, the narrator writes that she thinks normal work would do her some good, and that writing allows her to vent, and get across her ideas that no one seems to listen to. Gilman’s use of the rhetorical appeal pathos, first-person point of view, and forceful tone convey her message that confinement is not a good cure for mental health, and that writing,

The surroundings which one is placed in can drastically contribute to their mental state. Deterioration and a lack of stimulation will be reciprocated within the mind of the inhabitant. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, depicts a young, unnamed woman who is suffering with post-partum depression. In this time period, the treatment of mental illness typically did more harm than good as electroshock therapy, and the rest cure were the classic treatments of choice. Similarly, William Faulkner, the author of “A Rose for Emily”, written in 1930, gives the reader an inside look upon an elderly woman experiencing mental distress. Although there are major signs of an issue being present within Miss Emily’s old, southern house, the town chooses to ignore and cover them up as to not disrupt the elderly woman who buys poisons without a reason and sleeps next to the dead corpse of her lover. Theme and setting play two very distinct and important roles within each of these stories allowing the reader to have a more complete understanding of the message the author is trying to convey.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, the setting is very symbolic when analyzing the different the meanings of this book. The main character in the story is sick with nervous depression. In the story, John, her husband, and also a physician, takes his wife to a house in the middle of the summer and confines her to one room in hopes of perfect rest for her. As the story progresses, it is made clear that confinement, sanity, insanity, and freedom are all tied together and used to make the setting of the story symbolic.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860, in the city of Hartford, CT. She would later move to California. She would end her own life in 1935, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought for women’s rights and was an advocate of socialism. She wrote novels, poetry and short stories. She was a woman who was educated; her writing reflected her knowledge, relating to her strong thoughts on woman’s rights and independence and how women of Victorian times suffered from this lack of rights. In her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman conveys her views on feminism and how women are treated through characters who represent this treatment. The characters she uses help the reader really get drawn into her story;

The diction Gilman employs relates directly to the lasting role of women in the home to expose the historical adversities endured within the domestic sphere. The intricacy with which Gilman composes the text highlights the inherent

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” she explores the world of madness, torture, and imprisonment. In the story, the narrator is suppressed by her husband and his ‘‘superior wisdom,’’ leading to the loss of her sanity. Although it seems as though her husband is trying to help her, in actuality, his methods of healing her are detrimental to her health, both emotionally and mentally. The destruction of her sanity in relation to his attempt to help her are strategically illustrated by Gilman throughout the story.

Isolation has been simultaneously described as the human race’s largest desire and deepest fear. The idea of isolation is tempting to a person who feels overwhelmed and overly surrounded by human interaction, but it is much less tempting and much more terrifying to one who has truly experienced isolation. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is one person who falls into the latter category. She wrote, “The Yellow Wallpaper” as a social commentary and personal narrative on the widely accepted treatment of rest cure, which she had undergone herself. She spoke out against the treatment vigorously, as her first hand experiences had given her the perspective that the cure was extremely detrimental instead of helpful. She shed light on the fact that the treatment inherently causes more negative effects then positive because it goes directly against human nature by completely isolating a human being. Although the story was somewhat fictional, it was inspired by her actual experience with the treatment that was administered to her by her husband, Charles Stetson. Stetson was concerned about her, so he went to S. Weir Mitchell, the created of the rest cure. S. Weird Mitchell set up a specific treatment catered towards Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and even let her be treated in her house, which is traditionally not allowed in rest cure. Charlotte Perkins Gilman fought against the rest cure because the treatment promotes extreme isolation which is proven to have serious negative effects on physical,

Stuffed animals may help to console a fussy child into a soothing sleep, while an inspiring story told by a veteran grandparent may encourage a timid student enough to successfully complete a classroom speech. Personal possessions, whether tangible or not, can have the profound effect on the owner of helping him or her to cope with uncontrollable life events. The short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman depicts the tumultuous life of narrating character, referred to as Jane, whose attempts to hold onto things around her to prevent her declining mental state. The story is set in the late 1800’s, subjecting Jane and her husband, John, to the misconception of roles as women to be subordinate and men to dominate adds to the burden of ignorance over women’s health and welfare. Furthermore, Jane clings to her sparse possessions as desperate attempts to gain control over herself, while John holds onto items which support his pursuits of exerting control over others.

“The Yellow Wallpaper,” a short story of a women’s deterioration into mental illness, is a representation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s view on the domination of males in the medical environment, and the patriarchal formation of the household in the nineteenth century. Gilman is informing the reader of the consequences of a male dominated society with fixed gender roles. The man is the authoritative working figure, while the women is confined to her household duties and obeys the authority of her husband. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a depiction of a narrator who is constrained to her gender roles, and develops a worsened illness because of it.

Accepting that one person’s craziness can be another’s reality can be the barrier between acceptances in society. Preconception can come in any form and from anyone: family, friend, co-worker, or stranger. Charlotte Perkins Gilman writes of her reality in “The Yellow Wallpaper” as a semi-autobiography. As a feminist, Gilman gives the silent woman of her decade a voice through such works. In detail, “The Yellow Wallpaper” tells of the narrator suffering from post-partum depression and the only cure, giving by her husband, is rest. A variety of elements play a role in this character’s demise: era, gender inequality, ineffective communication, and personal weaknesses.

Depression is a rising topic nowadays, however it has been present in human history for a long time. It is highly important to treat this sickness properly, since it can have big repercussions in someone’s life and health. In class, we discussed the case of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This story is a clear example of a depression case treatment gone wrong. It illustrated the effects and consequences of negligence in the treatment of depression, centering on patients of the Victorian age. The “rest cure” was the common treatment given to women who suffered from depression or hysteria (Poirier 15). This treatment was not only ineffective but it was prejudicial to their mental health. In Gilman’s story, the narrator is diagnosed with nervous depression by her husband and brother, physicians of high standing. Her husband decides that the best way to treat her is making sure she rests, isolating her from everything that can harm her. She is left alone with nothing to do and no one to interact with, not even her own son. Additionally, the narrator was forbidden to express her emotions, especially through her writing, which ends up worsening her illness. A feeling of loneliness overcomes her and with nothing more than her room’s yellow wallpaper as a source of entertainment, she slowly falls into madness. The Yellow Wallpaper is the perfect example of how the treatment given to mentally ill women in the Victorian age was deficient, and in many cases

During the mid-1800’s women were often treated horribly and prohibited to have a mind of their own. Charlotte Perkins Gilman the author of ‘The Yellow Wallpaper” does an exquisite job illustrating the mentality society during this time in the short story. Gillman’s notion often was that men and women did not have a different mindset. ‘’ The Yellow Wallpaper” is a tale about this women who is mentally unstable and cannot recover due to her husband’s disbelief. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman uses feminist criticism through the dialogue, symbolism hidden in the text, and the protagonist transformation to help the readers understand the male and female dynamics of that time period.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” depicts a young woman suffering from depression after the birth of her child. This woman is sheltered away by her husband to a mansion in the country, where she persists to retreat into her mind from lack of other stimuli. Through the narrator’s drastic plunge to insanity, Gilman accurately depicts the limited roles available to women of the nineteenth century and the domineering and oppressing actions men took toward them.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman portrayed the conventional nineteenth-century middle-class marriage. The narrator in the story had a hard time expressing her feelings about her sickness. All she really wanted was for her husband to be home with her and they spend quality time together. Instead she had to express herself through writing. Most nineteenth-century marriages were this way in the aspect of wives and husbands not spending time together because the husbands went to work the majority of the day, every day. The wives stayed home and took care of the household duties, such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. But according to the narrator, she was not satisfied with living that life. Gilman wanted all women in the nineteenth-century to have the same freedom as men. She also wanted

with a rest cure. The doctor in the story is much like the doctor that