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How Does The Struggle In Charlotte P. Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

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Throughout the story The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte P. Gilman illustrates a unique relationship between a married woman and the wallpaper in her room. This particular woman went through a rough patch recently believed to be suffering with postpartum depression. Her husband – a doctor – seems to know what is best for his wife and keeps her locked away from friends and family all day long. Due to her captivity, the woman begins to imagine a woman trapped inside the awful yellow wallpaper. However, many people she sees herself trapped behind bars trying to escape to freedom. By the end of the story the woman escapes out of the wallpaper but the question still stands if the woman actually escaped or if she was still trapped in her life. In Charlotte P. Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, the wallpaper itself …show more content…

Throughout the story, the narrator illustrates how controlling her husband is and how she is oppressed in her marriage. After her pregnancy, the narrator starts to suffer with postpartum depression which has a huge toll on her family. Her husband feels as though he knows what’s best for her since he’s a doctor; however, the situation gets worse. While reading the story, it’s obvious that the narrator is not in a stable emotional or physical state and her husband isn’t supporting her at all as she states, “John says if I don't pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall. But I don't want to go there at all” (Gillman 9). From this quote, it is evident that John believes he knows best and urges the narrator to get better soon and threats to send the narrator to a more isolated environment. By using this threat is suggesting that the husband is done dealing with his wife’s problems and doesn’t understand why she isn’t better. Maybe by shipping her to someone else to deal

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