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The yellow wallpaper and isolation
Introduction of the yellow wallpaper
Critical analysis of the yellow wallpaper
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Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, not much was known about how to treat mental illnesses. At the time, many doctors felt that an appropriate way to handle such a thing was something known as the “resting cure,” which called for doing little more than “resting” by oneself. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s epistolary short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the main speaker writes of her reclusive treatment for her own mental illness. Throughout the passage, Gilman criticizes the practice of the resting cure by showing the harmful effects of isolation and the reduction of a person to an infantile state.
One of the main strategies for the resting cure is having the patient be in almost complete isolation from the rest of normal, functioning society. In the passage, the speaker is not only shut away in an secluded house, but she is also only allowed the company of her husband, John, and her husband’s sister, Jennie. A lot of the time, John “is kept in town very often,” and Jennie “lets [the speaker] alone,” therefore isolating her even further. Because the speaker spends so much time o...
It is clear that in their marriage, her husband makes her decisions on her behalf and she is expected to simply follow blindly. Their relationship parallels the roles that men and women play in marriage when the story was written. The narrator’s feelings of powerlessness and submissive attitudes toward her husband are revealing of the negative effects of gender roles. John’s decision to treat the narrator with rest cure leads to the narrator experiencing an intense feeling of isolation, and this isolation caused her mental decline. Her descent into madness is at its peak when she grows tears the wallpaper and is convinced that “[she’s] got out at last, in spite of [John] and Jennie… and [they] can’t put her back!”
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, is a first-person narrative written in the style of a journal. It takes place during the nineteenth century and depicts the narrator’s time in a temporary home her husband has taken her to in hopes of providing a place to rest and recover from her “nervous depression”. Throughout the story, the narrator’s “nervous condition” worsens. She begins to obsess over the yellow wallpaper in her room to the point of insanity. She imagines a woman trapped within the patterns of the paper and spends her time watching and trying to free her. Gilman uses various literary elements throughout this piece, such as irony and symbolism, to portray it’s central themes of restrictive social norms
The story of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins is one of the most famous accounts of madness in 19th century literature; taking the form of a woman’s journal who is receiving treatment for mental illness. Through the journal, she records her experiences and her mental life as she descends into what appears to be complete madness. Perkins is keen to stress both the singular experience of mental illness and ways in which this condition is manipulated and exacerbated by those around her. I will make the argument that it is possible to see the story as possessing a critical attitude towards contemporary social and gender relations in regards to Perkins view of androcentrism.
The narrator identifies the figure to be a woman, and realizes “at night, in any kind of light…it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be” (). At this point, she can create a relationship to the “woman” based off the similarities they share with each other, such as how they both are trapped by this wallpaper. They are both forcibly immobilized, and the lack of movement and interaction is driving the narrator past her breaking point to where she can connect to a person in the wallpaper that surrounds the room. The author uses the growing relationship to uncover her opinion about the rest cure which is that the choice of leaving the patient to lay and rest for such long periods of time will create a feeling of being trapped, and when trapped, the mind can go to rot just by baking in its own thoughts and fantasies. It is a remedy for insanity, and an outcome such as that would hold contrary to the expectations of this treatment. At the final moment of the story, just as the treatment comes to a close, we see the narrator reach her breaking point. She rips down the wallpaper and exclaims “I’ve got out at last” to her terrified husband as she “creeps” around the room (). The trapped
Haney-Peritz, Janice. "Monumental Feminism and Literature 's Ancestral House: Another Look At 'The Yellow Wallpaper '." Women 's Studies 12.2 (1986): 113. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
From 1837 to 1901, the Victorian Age had a profound influence on the social values mostly associated with women (Moss 1). The British poet, Robert Southey, once summed up the common viewpoint saying, “Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life and it ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it, even as an accomplishment and a recreation.” The short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is depicting the author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, personal battle with postpartum depression, and the “rest cure” treatment she received (Moss 1). In the Victorian age, the “rest cure” required complete isolation from friends and family while also forbidding any mental or physical exertion
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," is the disheartening tale of a woman suffering from postpartum depression. Set during the late 1890s, the story shows the mental and emotional results of the typical "rest cure" prescribed during that era and the narrator’s reaction to this course of treatment. It would appear that Gilman was writing about her own anguish as she herself underwent such a treatment with Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell in 1887, just two years after the birth of her daughter Katherine. The rest cure that the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" describes is very close to what Gilman herself experienced; therefore, the story can be read as reflecting the feelings of women like herself who suffered through such treatments. Because of her experience with the rest cure, it can even be said that Gilman based the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" loosely on herself. But I believe that expressing her negative feelings about the popular rest cure is only half of the message that Gilman wanted to send. Within the subtext of this story lies the theme of oppression: the oppression of the rights of women especially inside of marriage. Gilman was using the woman/women behind the wallpaper to express her personal views on this issue.
“Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman was analyzed by many perspective readers and writers. In my research paper I analyzed work by Ann Oakley and Karen Ford. These two authors had similar but yet different arguments. During my review process on both articles, I found that there can be many interpretations of any literary work. When you typically see topics written about women, you tend to see biased explanations. Reading these from a female standpoint you would go on to assume the writer will only defend what is morally right.
Gilman tries to show that according to her husband, the narrator continually brings her great depression upon herself. The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman also attempts to show that the lack of social exposure, physical repression, and ugly wallpaper cause the treatment to be extremely ineffective and detrimental. The disorder which is being treated is actually strengthened to the point of a serious mental illness. Similarly in today’s society, medical and psychological advice may have the same effect. Medical technology and practice have progressed considerably since the time of the “Yellow Wallpaper.” This is not to say that today’s physicians are infallible. Perhaps some of today’s treatments are the “Yellow Wallpaper” of the future .
Author Charlotte Gilman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” gives a personal short story about mental health care during her time. This account is personal, as the character in the story has experiences close to what author Gilman had during her period of receiving the ‘resting cure’ (Gilman). While many themes are described in the short story, the theme of passive health-care is especially prominent. The story delves into particular detail with the administration and effects of the resting cure in regards to the main character’s mental state. This paper will analyze the evidence given by “The Yellow Wallpaper” that the resting cure is not effective, give reasons why it may be due to the main characters need for a creative outlet, and examine the actual
good with the baby. [. . . .] I cannot be with him” (Gilman 706).
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s tantalizing short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” tells the horrifying tale of a nineteenth century woman whose husband condemns her to a rest cure, a popular approach during the era to treat post-partum depression. Although John, the unnamed narrator’s husband, does not truly believe his wife is ill, he ultimately condemns her to mental insanity through his treatment. The story somewhat resembles Gilman’s shocking personal biography, namely the rest cure she underwent under the watchful eye of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell in 1887, two years after the birth of her daughter, Katherine. Superficially, the rest cure the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" endures loosely replicates Gilman’s personal anguish as she underwent such a treatment. More complexly, however, the story both accentuates and indirectly criticizes the oppression women faced in both marriage and motherhood.
Honestly, I would say that this has no doubt been the best paper I’ve written for this class; it is also my last, so that would be expected. As the papers have come and gone, writing has come easier to me, this one was no exception. In fact, this was the easiest paper to write and the one with the least amount of errors. But with ease comes hardships.
In the early ages of medical practices in North America there were many issues with doctor’s inability to properly treat the conditions of mentally troubled individuals. One of the many conditions to be considered wrongfully treated is an example of mental disorders, depression. Many people back in the early days believed if you were too imaginative and creative it was a sign of a mental condition they did not further understand and feared it could affect your overall health. The most common use of treatment for this condition was a “rest cure” a simple procedure of completing routine cycles of day to day life with no extra stress or work remaining bedridden all day. In the example of TheYellowThe Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman a story of a husband who worries for his wife’s health and mental wellbeing, he tries to administer this cure for her to help with mental depression plaguing her life. In the story, the author describes the different methods of being trapped mentally, physically, and socially from this procedure. The many methods used to symbolize these examples are as simple as being unable to leave your living environment, being hidden away from the people she once socialized with, and then there is the situation of mentally breaking down from the confining life of never being able to express yourself.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman is about a woman suffering from mental illness that came about after her baby. Her husband, John, who is a doctor, calls it nervous depression. The couple is staying in a mansion for three months due to the narrator needing to be bed rested. Within this mansion, John makes his wife stay in one of the rooms upstairs that is covered in an ugly, yellow wallpaper; John makes all the decisions for him and the Narrator. The Narrator completely hates the room because of the wallpaper. Soon, the Narrator becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, especially the pattern of the wallpaper, and that their is a woman trapped within the wallpaper. The obsession continues to grow through out the story until the Narrator