The Yellow Wallpaper: A Comparison Of Depression

1305 Words3 Pages

Depression is an illness often misunderstood by the individual and their family. One symptom of depression is isolation and in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Doris Lessing’s short story, “To Room Nineteen” the protagonists feel trapped and unfulfilled in their ordinary lives causing them to become depressed. The emotional and physical battle both these characters undergo reveal many striking similarities, despite the origin and breaking points of their provoking thoughts and actions. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Doris Lessing’s short story “To Room Nineteen,” both protagonists experience isolation from the world and people around them. Susan, the protagonist in …show more content…

Everyone assumes Susan and her husband, Matthew, are the perfect couple who have made all the right choices in life but when Susan packs her youngest children off too school and discovers that her husband has been having etramartial affairs, she begins to question the life decisions she has made. Susan embarks on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately becomes a descend into madness. Susan chooses to isolate herself from her own family. Unlike Susan, the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” initially wants contact and interaction with people but is denied it by her husband. The woman thinks she would be better off being a part of the community, interacting with others. She tries telling her husband, John, that she feels something isn 't right saying, "You see, he does not believe I am sick!" (597). She wants social connection, not isolation and believes that "congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good" (598) and "less opposition and more society and stimulus" (598). He tells her the only reason they are there is for her sake and he "says if I …show more content…

Except, her room, in contrast to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, represents personal freedom. Susan on the other hand chooses to downgrade and stays at a hotel that is well below her standard of living. Room 19 is described as “hideous. It had a single window, with thin green brocade curtains, a three-quarter bed that had a cheap green satin bed spread on it.” (Lessing 883) Although the room may be repulsive, Susan finds comfort in it. Even though it appears that Susan may have what many people are striving for in life, it is clearly not enough to make her

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's A Yellow Wallpaper, and Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

    2087 Words  | 5 Pages

    Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was an aspiring artist who attended the Rhode Island School of Design. After the birth of her child, she fell into a deep, long-drawn depression. Her medical treatment, S. Weir Mitchell’s “rest cure,” which involved a period of continuous bed rest, not only failed to cure Gilman, but instead angered her. As someone who psychologically deteriorated under S. Weir Mitchell’s “resting cure,” Gilman unsurprisingly structured her story as an attack on this ineffective and brutal course of treatment. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman illustrates the way an already anxious, agitated mind can deteriorate and begin to prey on itself when forced into inactivity and deprived of the benefits of structure, work and a productive lifestyle.

    Read More

  • How Does The Yellow Wallpaper Reveal About A Woman's Gradual Descent Into Insanity

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    While on vacation for the summer, the narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is, at the most, depressed at the beginning of their visit to a colonial mansion. Her husband John, however, thinks there is nothing wrong with her except temporary nervous depression (pg 391) and has her confined to a bedroom upstairs. I believe John loves her very much and is trying to help her get well, but he won’t believe there is an illness unless he can read about it or see something physical with his own eyes. "He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures." (pg 391) During the time of this writing it was the norm that men dominated women. Women were to be seen but not heard. They were not to argue with men, so she was forced to do as he said. Her husband has forbidden her to "work" until she is well again. (pg 392) She is held prisoner in her bedroom and has nothing to do to keep her mind active except stare at the wallpaper, although she did sneak in writing in her journal when possible.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Beyond The Yellow Wallpaper By Ann Oakley

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    She was placed in this treatment called the “rest cure” that made her somewhat like a prisoner. She started to slowly decrease into psychosis due to her husband’s treatment, the environment, and the way society has treated her illness. The love the husband felt for his wife and the fear he had of losing her lead him to treat her in questionable ways. He placed her in environment that made her feel trapped and aided to her reduction in sanity. Ann Oakley in her article, “Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper” discusses how important this story truly is. Oakley talks about the gender differences and the harm that it can bring to a society. This treatment was acceptable and normal for the situation because society has taught him and her that it was normal. Even if the protagonist’s husband meant well the treatment she was placed in for depression lead her to have more psychological damage, increasing her insanity more each

    Read More

  • The Narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator becomes more depressed throughout the story because of the recommendation of isolation that was made to her. In this short story the narrator is detained in a lonesome, drab room in an attempt to free herself of a nervous disorder. The narrator’s husband, a physician, adheres to this belief and forces his wife into a treatment of solitude. Rather than heal the narrator of her psychological disorder, the treatment only contributes to its effects, driving her into a severe depression. Under the orders of her husband, the narrator is moved to a house far from society in the country, where in she is locked into an upstairs room.

    Read More

  • Alienation into Insanity in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Yellow Wallpaper and William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    They are written during a time period when women were not viewed as important as men. The narrator from the yellow wallpaper is suffering from post-natal depression and has been recommended the rest of her cure by her husband and her brother, both physicians. Instead of curing her, it worsened her condition. The protagonist did try to convince her husband about what she would prefer, but she could not overcome the powerful authority figure. The narrator is restricted from working, writing, which leads to her obsession with the yellow wallpaper and suffocates her into madness.

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wall Paper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    The “Yellow Wall Paper “ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a chilling study and experiment of mental disorder in nineteenth century. This is a story of a miserable wife, a young woman in anguish, stress surrounding her in the walls of her bedroom and under the control of her husband doctor, who had given her the treatment of isolation and rest. This short story vividly reflects both a woman in torment and oppression as well as a woman struggling for self expression.

    Read More

  • Internal Conflict In 'The Yellow Wallpaper'

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a woman living in the 19th century is told about a summer she spent in a house, which turns out to be an eerie and gloomy stay. A woman, who is suffering from depression, tells the story from 1st point of view. She tells us about her experience and how she felt. She even lets us in on her thoughts. She eventually finds a way to escape from her imprisonment.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In The Yellow Wallpaper

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” we are walked through the journal of a women who has been diagnosed, by her husband, with what he believes is merely, “temporary nervous depression” (Gilman 216). Since the protagonist’s husband, John, believes the only way she will get better is through moderate exercise, and lots of rest, they rent a house where she can have tranquility and rest until she is better (Gilman 216). At first glance “The Yellow Wallpaper” seems like a simple story of a women trying to get better in a house that she doesn’t particularly like. However, through further analysis it can be seen that through the use of symbolism Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a critique on the role of women in nineteenth-century American society.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Narrator And John In The Yellow Wallpaper

    296 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Yellow Wallpaper we are presented with several characters but the main two are the narrator and John, her husband. The narrator is described to be a woman suffering from nervous depression amongst other personal conflicts within herself. Her husband, John is a well-known physician who truly believes that there is nothing wrong with his wife and belittles both her illness and concerns. Their relationship is not your typical marriage, besides the fact that they are husband and wife this carries over into his professional life as his wife is also his patient. I believe this to be one of the main factors that’s putting a strain on their personal relationship, he no longer looks or treats his wife as his wife but as a patient.

    Read More

  • The Narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Short Story, The Yellow Wallpaper

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    In everyday day life we go through changes and sometimes we even break down to the point we do not know what to do with ourselves, but in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story” The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator is an obsessive person. The story focuses on a woman who is going through postpartum depression and has had a nervous breakdown. Her husband John moves her into a home where he wants her to rest in isolation to recover from her disorder. Throughout her time in the room the narrator discovers new things and finally understands life.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of The Yellow Wallpaper and Daisy Miller

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper, the main character is a symbol for all repressed women of her time.  Throughout the entire story, her name is never mentioned, alluding to the fact that the women of her era simply lacked their own personal identity.  Her husband treated her as a frail and incapable being.  He laughed at her fears, and disregarded her concerns as frivolous worries.  She recognized this as nothing beyond the normality, and accepts it because that is what her society deems standard.  When commenting that there must be something queer about a house so large and beautiful, yet rented to them at such a reasonable price, she continued “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in a marriage” (1).  John continually tells her that her illness is psychological, and encourages her to try and get more fresh air, for her own efforts will be the best for a quicker recovery.  However, on the one occasion she asks him for permission to visit her Cousin Henry and Julia, he denies her so, leaving her in tears and telling her she could not handle such a trip.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Delusion In The Yellow Wallpaper

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells her readers the story of a woman desperate to be free. Gilman’s use of symbolism is nothing short of brilliant in telling the story of a new mother suffering from postpartum depression and fighting her way through societies ideas of what a woman should be. When her husband, John, also known as her physician, tells her nothing is wrong with her mind, at first she believes him because she knows that society tells her she should. However, with her husband’s misdiagnosis, or attempt to keep his wife sane for the sake of their reputation, comes a short journey into madness for his wife, Jane. Jane’s downward spiral, as one may call it, turns out to be not so downward when the reader

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Yellow Wallpaper And To Room Nineteen

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Susan, the protagonist in “To Room Nineteen” feels trapped by her life and her family, and afflicted by her husband’s infidelity. Everyone assumes Susan and her husband are the perfect couple who have made all the right choices in life, but when Susan packs her youngest children off to school and discovers that her husband has been having an affair, she begins to question the life decisions she has made. Susan chooses to isolate herself from her own family by embarking on a journey of self-discovery in a hotel room that ultimately becomes a descend into madness. Unlike Susan, the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” initially wants contact and interaction with people, but is

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper from the Point of View of a Doctor's Wife

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story told from the first person point of view of a doctor's wife who has nervous condition. The first person standpoint gives the reader access only to the woman’s thoughts, and thus, is limited. The limited viewpoint of this story helps the reader to experience a feeling of isolation, just as the wife feels throughout the story. The point of view is also limited in that the story takes places in the present, and as a result the wife has no benefit of hindsight, and is never able to actually see that the men in her life are part of the reason she never gets well. This paper will discuss how Gilman’s choice of point of view helps communicate the central theme of the story- that women of the time were viewed as being subordinate to men. Also, the paper will discuss how ignoring oneself and one’s desires is self-destructive, as seen throughout the story as the woman’s condition worsens while she is in isolation, in the room with the yellow wallpaper, and her at the same time as her thoughts are being oppressed by her husband and brother.

    Read More

  • Person Versus Society In Gilman´s The Yellow Wallpaper

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the author takes the reader through the terrors of a woman’s psychosis. The story convey to understatements pertaining to feminism and individuality that at the time was only idealized. Gillman illustrates her chronological descent into insanity. The narrators husband John, who is also her physician diagnosed her with “nervous depression” and therefore ordered her to isolate until she recuperates. She is not only deprived of outside contact but also of her passion to write, since it could deteriorate her condition. The central conflict of the story is person versus society; the healthy part of her, in touch with herself clashing with her internalized thoughts of her society’s expectations. In a feminist point of view the central idea pertains to the social confinement that woman undergo due to their society.

    Read More

More about The Yellow Wallpaper: A Comparison Of Depression

Open Document