The Yellow Wallpaper
Sarah Kreeger
EngWr 301
Professor Bradford
21 July 2013
Short Story Analysis
The Yellow Wallpaper: The Power of Society’s Views On the Care of Mental Patients “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 her better. When she voices her opinion to her husband he tells her to not think about it - to trust him because he is a doctor and knows what is best. She then redirects her energy towards the yellow wallpaper design in her bedroom, spending her days crawling on the floor in circles trying to figure it out. The story reveals that the social factors of the time, a woman’s place and views on mental illness, goes against what is actually good for her and eventually leads to her condition to worsen. If she was able to do what she thought was best she would have gotten better. Her role as a woman, as a mental patient, and inability to express her feelings are what leads to her complete loss of sanity. The narrator’s husband, backed up by her brother who is also a physician, is in control of everything that she is able to do, despite what she believes would be best. From the beginning she expresses that she does not agree with what is being done to her. She states, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (pg 347) which is basically the exact opposite view of the outside world. She also makes it clear that John being a physician “perhaps... is one reason I do not get well
EngWr 301
Professor Bradford
21 July 2013
Short Story Analysis
The Yellow Wallpaper: The Power of Society’s Views On the Care of Mental Patients “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 her better. When she voices her opinion to her husband he tells her to not think about it - to trust him because he is a doctor and knows what is best. She then redirects her energy towards the yellow wallpaper design in her bedroom, spending her days crawling on the floor in circles trying to figure it out. The story reveals that the social factors of the time, a woman’s place and views on mental illness, goes against what is actually good for her and eventually leads to her condition to worsen. If she was able to do what she thought was best she would have gotten better. Her role as a woman, as a mental patient, and inability to express her feelings are what leads to her complete loss of sanity. The narrator’s husband, backed up by her brother who is also a physician, is in control of everything that she is able to do, despite what she believes would be best. From the beginning she expresses that she does not agree with what is being done to her. She states, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (pg 347) which is basically the exact opposite view of the outside world. She also makes it clear that John being a physician “perhaps... is one reason I do not get well
Cited: Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Roberts and Zweig 346. Roberts, Edgar V and Robert Zweig. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Backpack ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. Print.