The Role Of Hysteria In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

Hysteria, originates from the Greek word for a “wandering uterus,” and was historically used to describe a “woman's mood swings and erratic behavior”. It was believed that in order to cure the wandering uterus a woman would need to be “confined and controlled” (Traniello). Throughout history, women have been made to feel as though they are not worthy of being treated respectively by people who are in control, in this case, doctors. Women’s hysteria is a large part of popular culture and literature, such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the hit television series American Horror Story. These media depict the improper treatment of women with mental disorders, and the madness that ensues. Female hysteria is not a disease women are born with; unlike various other mental disorders, hysteria is something that develops over time, caused by outside forces. It’s a disorder evoked by the combination of these disorders and the maltreatment of a patient. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper was written in the late 19th century and the short
Her symptoms include her crying and being excessively “tired.” Her depression is present at the beginning of the short story, her husband diagnoses her with a “temporary nervous depression” (648). As the story advances, Jane’s depression becomes worse and worse. According to, helpguide.org a person suffering from depression experiences, “anger and irritability”, “helplessness and hopelessness,” and “reckless behavior ”(7).The depression is exemplified when Jane talks about suicide towards the end of the story, “I am getting angry enough to do something desperate. To jump out of the window would be an admirable exercise, but the bars are too strong to try” (656) She also expresses her anger by biting off pieces of her bed’s headboard, “I got so angry I bit off a little piece at one corner- but it hurt my teeth” (655). Need Wrap up