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Doctoring ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.
the yellow wallpaper illness
the yellow wallpaper illness
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Charlotte Perkin Gilman as a woman living in 19th century America, provides powerful insight into the mistreatment of women at the time in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The narrative is told from the perspective of Jane whose oppressive relationship with her husband causes her to descend into madness. Jane and her husband John although married lived unequal lives. John, both a male and a doctor holds a very high position in society. All of John’s words are finals this influences Jane throughout the story. Evidently, John is shown to mistreat Jane by belittling her as if she were inferior to him. For example, John would always refer to Jane as “…my little girl…” or refer to her with “Bless her little heart.” (557). This was …show more content…
No evidence of this “illness” was shown because the only symptoms Jane ever displayed was her eventual descent to insanity, but that was due to John’s incompetence. One could argue that perhaps the “illness” is diagnosed in an attempt to further control women by restricting their minds and thoughts. By the end of the plot, Jane’s mind had taken a toll from being locked up for so long, it led to her eventually decent to insanity. The last thing she would quote was, “I’ve got out at last…so I creep over him every time.” (563). Jane’s final quote would be evidence that her willpower and individualism was the target of John’s care. In other words, she, as a woman, was not allowed to express her identity because it was not in the best interest of her husband. As a result, she became mentally unstable and insane. It is interesting to how John believe, “no one but herself can help her out” (556), despite that it was his direct orders and influence that caused his wife to decent to …show more content…
It did more harm to the patients than good and the process in which it is conducted mistreats the patients. A side effect of the resting cure is the descent of a person’s mind from sanity to instability. With nothing to do all day Jane found herself alternate loopholes to John’s treatment. This would be the gazing and curiosity surrounding yellow wallpaper that was located their bedroom. Jane obsessively talks about the wallpaper and stated, “I…watched and started at the moonlight on that wallpaper...the woman wanting to get out...” (557). In reality this attempt to find new relief for her mind in the everyday life caused her detachment from reality and it was the direct result from the treatment. The treatment’s idea is to restrict one’s imagination and individualism in order to be “rested” and it is suggested from the text that this was a normal treatment back in those days. As a result because of it being a widespread and accepted treatment, Jane could not escape from the “cure” due to her husband’s repeated enforcement. Her husband’s enforcement could be seen as a form of control on Jane, whether John was there or not, she would be subjected to whatever was required of her and the maid could be seen as an extension of John’s control. Jane’s pleas, “No one wanted to believe what an effort it is to do so
Jane is often very inconsistent about when she likes her husband, and when she hates him. She seems to constantly battle with the idea that her spouse is actually helping her when he tries to prevent her from doing things such as writing (Hume 6). Jane also seems to be fearful of her husband and even states so “The fact is I am getting a little afraid of John,” (Gilman 963). Jane also talks of how she is afraid...
Due to Jane’s husband enforcing a life in confinement due to her nervous breakdowns, it only takes a little time for the isolation to drive her mad. In the beginning of the story, it is clear that the narrator, Jane, suffers from post-natal depression, which is a common effect after childbirth. The way Jane sees her living quarters is much different than it actually is. She imagines the rings on the walls, the torn up wallpaper, and the bars on the windows as a nursery or a school for boys, when those features actually lead the audience to realize that it is a room for the mentally ill. Her husband, also her physician, believes that in order for her metal illness to be cured is to forbid her from exercising her imagination, working, and to keep her locked away. However, his theory proves to be wrong when her mind begins to see a world inside the wallpaper, caused by the abuse from confinement. Although her husband is doing this for what he thinks is best for her well
The narrator finally achieves an authoritative position in her marriage, with John unconscious and her creative imagination finally free of all restraints. Her continual “creeping” over his prone body serves as a repeated emphasis of this liberation, almost as if the narrator chooses to climb over him to highlight his inferiority over and over again” (Harrison). John was a weak person, Jane suffered from a nervous disorder which was made way worse by the feelings of being trapped in a room. The setting of the nursery room with barred windows in a colonial mansion provides an image of the loneliness and seclusion she experienced. Periods of time can lead to insanity. Maybe her illness wasn’t that bad but he made it worse on her part because he was a sick husband. Some critics have argued “Is the narrator really liberated? We’re inclined towards saying “no”, given that she’s still creeping around the room and that her psyche is broken”
This story demonstrates a prime example of a patriarchal society in which the degree of influence by Dr. John in the decisions of the marriage, which ends up in his wife’s dementia. In the story right after Jane gave birth to her child she gets into a deep depression so her husband and her brother, two respected physicians ordered her rest. The house where they live is away from town and she only had contact with her husband and her nurse. "[The house] is quite alone standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people." Gilman, Charlotte
In a female oppressive story about a woman driven from postpartum depression to insanity, Charlotte Gilman uses great elements of literature in her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Her use of feminism and realism demonstrates how woman's thoughts and opinions were considered in the early 1900?s.
He prescribes her a “rest cure”. The woman remains anonymous throughout the story. She becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper that surrounds her in the room, and engages in some outrageous imaginations towards the wallpaper.
The psychologically thrilling story of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman explores the dark and twisted aspect of the American society in the nineteenth century. Through the use of theme, Gilman creatively captures the cultural subordination and struggles women faced on a regular basis.
John comes home to discover his wife circling the room removing the wallpaper. John faints at the sight of his, clearly, insane wife. It is notably; interesting that Gilman has John faint. Other literally works of that time often describe females fainting. It was a stereotypical “female” behavior. As John’s unconscious body lay on the floor, the narrator is forced “to creep over him every time” (Gilman. 803) She is quite, literally stepping over John and all his patriarchal ideals; as a woman she has finally freed herself. She explains at the end that she came out of the paper (Gilman. 803).
Jane in her younger years was practically shunned by everyone and was shown very little love and compassion, from this throughout her life she searches for these qualities through those around her. Due to Jane’s mother’s disinheritance she was disowned by Mrs. Reed and her children, and was treated like a servant consistently reminded that she lacked position and wealth.
They were always under the control of their fathers and then later their husbands. They would had no public access to their own emotions as is brought out in The Yellow Wallpaper. “Jane” was unable to accept the depression for what it was, she was even denied access to her own child, making her feel even more burdensome. “And yet, I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous.” (The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volume 2, 1865 to the Present, Page 488). She is sent to a summer house of sorts, forced to better herself from her “nervousness.” Idle in a room with wallpaper she cannot stand to see, she eventually succumbs to madness; resulting in her “freedom” as the woman trapped in both the wallpaper and her life. In this state of insanity she yells at her husband, “I got out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jane! And I 've pulled off most of the paper, so you can 't put me back!” (The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volume 2, 1865 to the Present, Page 497) Both the reader and John, her husband are left in shock, as this was an unexpected turn of events. Nevertheless, Jane was free, insane, but free. The reader is left with only that, so one might never know what happened to Jane after her husband regained
“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 fabricated that includes a woman trapped in the wallpaper. The narrator of this story grows obsessed with the wallpaper in her room because her husband minimizes her exposure to the outside world and maximizes her rest. Academic essayists such as Susan M. Gilbert, Susan Gubar, and Elaine Showalter have a feminist reading of the story, however, this is not the most important reading. The author experienced the turmoil of the rest cure personally, which means that the story is most likely a comment on the great mistreatment of depression, hysteria and mental disorders in general. Despite the claims of Gilbert, Gubar, and Showalter that “The Yellow Wallpaper” is solely feminist propaganda, their analysis is often unnecessarily deep and their claims are often unwarranted, resulting in an inaccurate description of a story that is most importantly about the general mistreatment of psychosis and the descent into insanity regardless of gender.
Gilman has stated in multiple papers that the main reason for her writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” was to shed light on her awful experience with this ‘rest cure’. However, she also managed to inject her own feminist agenda into the piece. Charlotte Perkins Gilman chose to include certain subtle, but alarming details regarding the narrator’s life as a representation of how women were treated at the time. She wants us to understand why the narrator ends up being driven to madness, or in her case, freedom. There are untold layers to this truly simple, short story just like there were many layers to Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper is a very astonishing story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that daringly reaches out to explore the mental state of a woman whose mind eventually begins to be broken down to a state of insanity by the appearance of a creeping woman who is trapped behind a revolting yellow wallpaper. This short story takes a look at the causes of the narrator’s insanity by how she was confined in a house alone, trapped with only her mind and a dull wallpaper; while dealing with depression and consuming strong
She rebelled because she was long deprived of freedom, and her imprisonment. From this isolation Jane manages to learn independence and learns to really only on herself for much needed comfort and entertainment.
At the beginning of the book, Jane was living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her children. Although Jane is treated cruelly and is abused constantly, she still displays passion and spirit by fighting back at John and finally standing up to Mrs Reed. Even Bessie ‘knew it was always in her’. Mrs. Reed accuses Jane of lying and being a troublesome person when Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School visited Gateshead. Jane is hurt, as she knows she was not deceitful so she defends herself as she defended herself to John Reed when he abused her, as she said “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave driver – you are like the Roman emperors!” to John Reed instead of staying silent and taking in the abuse, which would damage her self-confidence and self-worth. With the anger she had gotten from being treated cruelly, she was able to gain ...