The Yellow Wallpaper

A Critical Analysis of Formal Elements in the Short Story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman takes the form of journal entries of a woman undergoing treatment for postpartum depression. Her form of treatment is the “resting cure,” in which a person is isolated and put on bed rest. Her only social interaction is with her sister-in-law Jennie and her husband, John, who is also her doctor. Besides small interactions with them, most of the time she is left alone. Society believes all she needs is a break from the stresses of everyday life, while she believes that “society and stimulus” (pg 347, paragraph 16) will make

The “rest cure” was a common treatment for depression in women in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Women were locked in a room involuntarily and forced to “rest.” The patient was locked in a room and not allowed to leave or function in any type of way. The narrator in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story The Yellow Wallpaper is subjected to this cure. The story is written to expose the cruelty of the “resting cure”. Gilman uses the wall paper to represent the narrators sense of entrapment, the notion of creativity gone astray, and a distraction that becomes an obsession.

The Yellow Paper is a symbolic story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is a disheartening tale of a woman struggling to free herself from postpartum depression. This story gives an account of an emotionally and intellectual deteriorated woman who is a wife and a mother who is struggling to break free from her metal prison and find peace. The post-partum depression forced her to look for a neurologist doctor who gives a rest cure. She was supposed to have a strict bed rest. The woman lived in a male dominated society and wanted indictment from it as she had been driven crazy by as a result of the Victorian “rest-cure.” Her husband made sure that she had a strict bed rest by separating her from her child by taking her to recuperate in

Today, women have more freedoms than we did in the early nineteenth century. We have the right to vote, seek positions that are normally meant for men, and most of all, the right to use our minds. However, for women in the late 1800’s, they were brought up to be submissive housewives who were not allowed to express their own interests. In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a woman is isolated from the world and her family because she is suffering from a temporary illness. Under her husband’s care, she undergoes a treatment called “rest cure” prescribed by her doctor, Dr. Weir Mitchell. It includes bed rest, no emotional or physical stimulus, and

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story written about an unnamed woman who battles with an array of separate but coinciding issues, including post-partum depression, which in turn, leads her to become a completely different woman by the end of the story. Although the story of the unnamed woman is a possible parallel to Gilman’s own personal battle with post-partum depression, social norms, and the effects the Rest Cure had on the body, the reader must not compare Gilman’s work to her own separate personal battle and treatment. Moreover, “The Yellow Wallpaper” has several different strong and apparent themes, such as; the oppressive nature of women in the 19 Century, the effects of Silas Weir Mitchells, the Rest Cure,

The brain is a strong but delicate muscle inside the human body. However, if this muscle gets overworked it will affect the overall persona of that individual. Depression or any other mental diseases are not diagnoses or setbacks that should be taken lightly. Back in the 1800’s and 1900’s medicine and the knowledge of the individuals that decided to practice medicine was not extensive. Due to medicine, not being as advanced as it is today, a lot of patients were getting treating improperly. The character within The Yellow Wallpaper is a great example of not only a mental disease but also malpractice. Although the main character within The Yellow Wallpaper may be a woman of high social status, the narrator goes mad for the following reasons: she is extremely drugged with improper medicine, she lacks autonomy, and her post-partum depression escalates. Some might say that the story of The Yellow Wallpaper is simplistic, however, it can also be viewed that the simplicity of the story is what makes it complicated and comprehensive.

Feminist studies generally focus on the role that hysterical diagnoses and treatments played in reinforcing the prevailing, male-dominant gender roles through the subversion, manipulation and degrading of female experience through the use of medical treatments and power structures. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “ The Yellow Wallpaper” is a perfect example of these themes. In writing this story, Charlotte Perkins Gilman drew upon her own personal experiences with hysteria. The adoption of the sick-role was a product of-and a reaction against gender norms and all of the pressures and tensions that their satisfaction demanded. Gilman’s essay uses autobiographical experiences displayed as doppelganger quality the in the main narrator of the

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is the story of a woman descending into psychosis in a creepy tale which depicts the harm of an old therapy called “rest cure.” This therapy was used to treat women who had “slight hysterical tendencies” and depression, and basically it consisted of the inhibition of the mental processes. The label “slight hysterical tendency” indicates that it is not seen as a very important issue, and it is taken rather lightly. It is also ironic because her illness is obviously not “slight” by any means, especially towards the end when the images painted of her are reminiscent of a psychotic, maniacal person, while she aggressively tears off wallpaper and confuses the real world with her alternative world she has

"There comes John, and I must put this away -- he hates to have me write a

Perspectives toward women’s both physical and mental health are displayed in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The story is told through journal entries written by the narrator. It is rather obvious that the narrator in this short story is suffering from depression, but the illness eventually becomes detrimental when her companion, John, does not believe it is a medical condition. John is an empirical man who is a physician, who tends to belittle his wife’s concerns and thoughts. The narrator and John’s move into a large house in the country for the summer is influenced by his aspiration to reveal his suffering wife to fresh air and tranquil life.

The Mitchell treatment is isolating a patient in one building, and was a real treatment, which helps readers realize this is actually a possible situation. The realism of the setting in “The Yellow Wallpaper” gives the story a much deeper meaning because readers can not brush the story off as

“The yellow wallpaper” was published in 1892 as part of Charlotte Perkins Gilman work. Its prominence is great because of its theme which sought to liberate women who at the time were dominated by their male counterparts. In the 1800’s women never enjoyed the privileges they do in the contemporary world but were greatly dominated by the patriarch society. By late 1800’s women had slowly and determinedly started to fight for their position, this was through literature and seeking positions that were previously looked at as a man’s privilege. It is their purposeful strive that has led to the current gains enjoyed by the modern woman. In this particular work “The yellow paper” Gilman explores gender roles in marriage and family, the

“The Yellow Wallpaper” portrays the story of a woman’s descent into madness. Her husband John, while trying to help her, is actually not deliberately damages her progression to get better. They arrive at a colonial mansion to spend the summer there, in order for her to recover form postpartum depression. John believes that the secluded mansion and the rest cure will help his wife to recover. The rest cure is defined as a “period spent in inactivity or leisure with the intention of improving one’s physical or mental health” (OED, web). Therefore, John implores his wife to rest and forbids her of writing. The story is told from a first person point of view, as the protagonist

The rest cure was a sentence to complete isolation from daily life for women who were suffering depression. Thinking that the mind was like a muscle, doctors thought that depression was just a damaged muscle that needed to not be used until it felt better. Gilman’s experience with the rest cure contributed greatly to the writing of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” A short story about a wife who was submitted to the rest cure by her husband, who was also a doctor. The starts off with the wife slightly depressed, and ends with her having gone completely mad. Having gone through the actual treatment gave her