The Yellow Wallpaper- A Woman’s Struggle Essay, Research Paper

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}{plain tab Pregnancy and childbirth are very emotional times in a woman’s life and many women suffer

from the “baby blues.” The innocent nickname for postpartum depression is deceptive because it

down plays the severity of this condition. Although she was not formally diagnosed with postpartum

depression, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) developed a severe depression after the birth of

her only child (Kennedy et. al. 424). Unfortunately, she was treated by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, who

forbade her to write and prescribed only bed rest and quiet for recovery (Kennedy et al. 424). Her

condition only worsened and ultimately resulted in divorce (Kennedy and Gioia 424). Gilman’s

literary indictment of Dr. Mitchell’s ineffective treatment came to life in the story “The Yellow

Wallpaper.” On the surface, this gothic tale seems only to relate one woman’s struggle with mental

illness, but because Guilman was a prominent feminist and social thinker she incorporated themes of

women’s rights and the poor relationships between husbands and wives (Kennedy and Gioia 424).

Guilman cleverly manipulates the setting to support her themes and set the eerie mood.par

}{plain tab Upon first reading “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the reader may see the relationship between the

narrator and her husband John as caring, but with examination one will find that the narrator is

repeatedly belittled and demeaned by her husband. On first arriving at the vacation home John

chooses the old attic nursery against his wife’s wishes and laughs at her when she complains about

the wallpaper (Kennedy et al. 424,425). In Charlotte Bronte’s novel }{plain ul Jane Eyre}{plain , Mr. Rodchester

uses his attic to keep his insane wife hidden from the rest of the world. John’s actions can easily be

interpreted with the same malice. The narrator’s insistence that John is a caring and loving husband

draws special attention to the true meanings behind his word’s and actions. Would a man deeply

concerned for his wife’s mental state constantly leave her alone to tend after patients with “serious”

conditions (Kennedy et al. 426)? Any time John speaks to his wife, he uses the third person voice

or refers to her as “little girl” or some other term of endearment (Kennedy and Gioia 430,431). He

never uses her name, therefore he never really recognizes her as a person nor an equal. This dialog

can easily be compares to one between a parent and his child. Because the room was an old nursery

this idea is strongly enforced. Hance, there is no oddity in the fact that the narrator comes to think of

herself as a child (Twentieth 111). She comments on the fact that the children tore the wallpaper

and later admits to doing it herself (Kennedy et al. 426,428). Her regression is also demonstrated

by her comparison of her present room with the bedroom of her childhood (Kennedy and Gioia

427,428).par

}{plain tab The underlying theme of woman’s rights emanates from every part of “The Yellow

Wallpaper.” In an essay by Elaine R. Hedges, she points out how the wallpaper symbolized the

gross lack of women’ rights (Short 119). The yellow “smooches” that Jennie finds on the clothes of