Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Oppression Of The Woman In The Yellow Wallpaper

The depression many women faced when failing to meet society’s expectations was exemplified by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s character in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The woman in Gilman’s story exemplifies how “hysterical” mothers were treated during the 19th century. The woman speaks of her love for her child: “Such a dear baby!” Since the daunting expectations of motherhood left the mother scared and vulnerable, she did not feel comfortable to be alone with the baby: “Yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous” (The Yellow Wallpaper, 257). Her “nervous weakness” (The Yellow Wallpaper, 258) and inability to be the traditional mother created a depression within her. She explains, “I cry at nothing and cry most of the time” (The Yellow Wallpaper,

Understanding the inequalities within their marriage, the woman knows she cannot change her husbands mind: “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one…what is one to do?” The woman’s husband diagnosed her with a “temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency” (The Yellow Wallpaper, 255). The woman desires to write, walk around the garden, and to socialize with her friends and family. However, her husband keeps her inside of a small bedroom with “barred windows” (The Yellow Wallpaper, 258). He forbids her to write and socialize; afraid she will tire herself out. Throughout her journey through depression, the woman realizes she cannot speak about her true feelings with her husband: “He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him” (The Yellow Wallpaper, 257). The husband places pressure upon the woman to heal in order to become the wife and mother she is expected to be. Knowing she cannot speak to her husband about her true condition without inciting anger, the woman feels alone and