Illnessity Of Insanity In Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

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Recommended: Important information in the yellow wallpaper

In the psychological community, "insanity" is a legal term and is in no way psychological (Strickland 330). The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology defines "insanity" as "A legal and social term for a mental disorder that causes people to be judged incapable of managing their own affairs and not responsible for their actions." (Pettijohn 144). He continues to say that ".. the term is no longer a correct synonym for a psychotic disorder or any other form of abnormal behavior [in psychology]" (Pettijohn 144). In the time period of "The Yellow Wallpaper", insanity was a valid term for what the women of the time were sometimes said to be. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator's misunderstood illness and treatment cause her descent into madness. …show more content…

The wallpaper, the center of the story, the perceived reason for her madness, was simply just wallpaper that she disliked. Every time she would describe it, her delusions would continually get worse. "I never saw a worse paper in my life." (Gilman) is her first observation of the paper. She strongly believed that there was a woman, "A strange, provoking, formless sort of figure." (Gilman) behind that paper who was creeping outside and around her room. She strongly believed that she needed to help this woman be free of the wretched wallpaper. She strongly believed that the wallpaper had a "yellow smell" (Gilman). No one could possibly make her disbelieve for one second that the woman didn't move about and yearn to be free of the strangling pattern. She believes that she is the only person who understands and can get the woman out of her …show more content…

During this time, the rest cure was prescribed to anyone who seemed only a little out of the ordinary. Many mental issues that we know are real today were denied and were simply thrown into one category. This category was just that something was wrong and sending them away would help the issue. When she was able to be released from her room at the end of her rest cure she had completely lost it because of the idleness and the solitary confinement. She imagined herself as someone who was locked in a prison and when she was finally able to come out, the personality that she had developed fully took over her

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