The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

In 1892, a short story by the name of “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a well-known author and feminist of the late 19th century. The story was initially inspired by her personal experiences and the actions that followed after. Although the story was correlated to actual events, many of the scenes described in “The Yellow Wallpaper” prove to be exaggerated in comparison to the author’s experience. Similarly, the author and narrator of the story (who goes by no name) both suffer from the same condition known as neurasthenia, misconstrued to be identical to hysteria. The story was created in spite to denounce the treatments prescribed to her, as well as to personify the misogynistic influence that lead to these treatments that pertained to women. Gilman represents the feminist position being oppressed by the swift judgements of their male counterparts to highlight the negligent idea that created such unusual treatments.

“The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, is a great example of early works pertaining to feminism and the disease of insanity. Charlotte Gilman’s own struggles as a woman, mother, and wife shine through in this short story capturing the haunting realism of a mental breakdown.The main character, much like Gilman herself, slips into bouts of depression after the birth of her child and is prescribed a ‘rest cure’ to relieve the young woman of her suffering. Any use of the mind or source of stimulus is strictly prohibited, including the narrator’s favorite hobby of writing. The woman’s husband, a physician, installs into his wife that the rest treatment is correct and will only due harm if not followed through. This type of treatment ultimately drives the woman insane, causing her to envision a woman crawling behind the yellow wallpaper of her room. Powerlessness and repression the main character is subject to creates an even more poignant message through the narrator’s mental breakdown. The ever present theme of subordination of women in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is advanced throughout the story by the literary devices of symbolism, imagery, and allegory.

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.

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

Charlotte Perkins Gilman is widely recognized for her support of feminism and calls for awareness to her mental condition by voicing her ideas through her original writing. One of her works, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, describes a woman who suffers from severe anxiety and is isolated in a room in order to “heal” according to her husband. While in the room, she becomes obsessed with the ugly wallpaper, which leads to her fall. In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author discusses the Narrator’s deteriorating mental state, her inability to differentiate reality and imagination, and her desire to rebel against

After learning of Gilman’s personal story, it becomes apparent that “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and the struggle of its narrator, carries a distinct message. Gilman grew up in an unhappy and impoverished family with a brother, a single mother, and no father figure. She later went on to marry Charles Stetson (whom she later divorced) and had a daughter with him. After the birth of her daughter, Gilman fell into a deeply depressed state, indicating the relevance of postpartum depression. When she consulted Dr. Weir Mitchell about it, she was prescribed a “rest cure.” It was this event that inspired Gilman to write “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and many similarities can be drawn between

treats her like a child and just like a child she is kept in this

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author of the realism story The Yellow Wallpaper, struggled with depression, which makes a great connection between her and the narrator. Realism, which is an accurate and detailed portrayal of actual life, is what Gilman used to describe how women were treated in the 1890’s and how depression can affect one’s body. The author uses the unnamed narrator in this story to explain the reality and horrors of depression in the 18th century. The purpose was to inform her readers of how mistreated women were in this time, especially because of the apprehension she, and others, had to go through. The narrator’s husband may be a leading cause in the reason she got depression, and also a reason she did not get better.

Gilman grew up without her father and she vowed to never get married, due to the fact that she did not want to be the oppressed stereotype as a wife in the 1800s.(https://site/gilmansociety//about-charlotte-perkins-gilman).Gilman herself was put on rest cure, she suffered from neurasthenia. At 21 she met her husband Charles Walter Stetson, got married him in 1884 and almost immediately after got pregnant. As soon as Gilman gave birth to her daughter she suffered from depression and post-partum that lasted several years. She eventually went to a Philadelphia sanitarium to undergo the “rest cure” and when she was finally released, she had numerous mental breakdowns. While being on the “rest cure” she was in the hands of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, who happens to be the same doctor that is mentioned briefly in The Yellow

The terms “social status” and “influence” are two that go hand in hand. When one is given a high ranking on the social ladder, they are also given influence, a powerful tool that can be used for good, but also as a weapon if mishandled (which it often is). Many things in society make up social status and can also be found to have a direct relationship with influence, including wealth, sex, age, profession, education, and even race. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, this correlation and abuse of influence is portrayed through an inside look into the deteriorating mind of a woman whose life is being controlled by her influential, high in social status husband. Although he believes that he is doing the

Charlotte Perkins Gilman utilizes her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper to demonstrate the treatment towards women and the mentally ill in the late nineteenth-century. She wrote this short story as a way of sharing her knowledge with other women of the faults in the patriarchal society as well as, to show men the faults in their ways. Likewise, The Yellow Wallpaper demonstrates the effect that women being ostracized from society has on the mental health of these individuals. Gilman criticizes nineteenth-century society for the oppression of women, patriarchy, their treatment of mental illness, and the way people were forced to stay in unhealthy marriages; similarly, Gilman also criticizes the narrator for not standing up for herself,

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a thrilling story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman back in the 1860. The setting is the Victorian era when women had no place in the society because the society was dominated by men. Therefore, the women character Jennie try to rise and discover their place in the society, but different obstacles prevented them from realizing their dreams. In this regard, the paper will discuss how Jennie, the narrator needed to have the opportunity to work, to grow and to make connections outside of the home. Jennie is treated like a child of being a house wife by her husband. He wouldn’t allow her to communicate with others outside of home. Jane her sister-in-law also housekeeper to help Jennie with her chores. An article by Dr. Aşkın Haluk said “a married women was legally the slave to her husband (Haluk 47) Relating to Jennie husband slaving her to take care of her chores.

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

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