Mental Illness In The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Mental Illness and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’
Mental illnesses have impacted the human species and have not always been treated properly. In modern times, however, medical professionals are better at helping treat the symptoms of the illness or remove it completely through medicine or other practices. However, there was a time when doctors believed diseases of the mind were diseases of the nervous system. Which unfortunately led to many people losing their life whether that was their way of living or their conscience because of impractical treatment plans. The story The Yellow Wallpaper shows how 19th-century doctors lacked the skills to treat mental disorders. In this story, Charlotte Perkins Gilman utilizes her own experience with one of these

For instance, Jane, the main character of the story, reveals her diagnosis of “nervous depression” and is under the care of her husband who is a physician (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 2). Readers can also infer that she is suffering from postpartum depression as she states, “I cannot be with [the baby], it makes me so nervous” (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 5). Similarly, In 1887 Charlotte Gilman placed herself under the care of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell. During this time, she was suffering from depression or “nervous prostration” as diagnosed by the doctor after the birth of her daughter (Korb). Also in the story, Jane’s husband's prescription plan included phosphates, tonics air, exercise, no work, and isolation from other family members (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 3,6). Gilman also experienced a similar regime as Dr. Mitchell prescribed her total bed rest and isolation (Korb). This medical treatment affected both of them horribly as Jane’s mind continued to deteriorate as the story progressed (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 6-18); Gilman felt she was going crazy during the three months she followed Mitchell’s directions (Gilman, “Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’). In conclusion, Gilman’s experience with mental health issues appears throughout The Yellow Wallpaper through Jane and other

As mentioned before, Gilman states in her explanation of why she wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, that Mitchell’s instructions made her feel like she was losing her mind. To express this in her story she included the mental breakdown of Jane. Jane became more isolated as the story continued and began to notice patterns along the wallpaper that moved and how they changed in different light ( Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 7-8, 11). She also began imagining a figure who was imprisoned behind the wallpaper and shook the paper like they were trying to escape (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 10). She continues to focus on the wallpaper and even goes on to describe how confusing the pattern is, “You think you have mastered it, but just as you get well under way in following, it turns a back somersault and there you are” (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 11). The narrator then comes to the conclusion that it is a woman’s figure behind the wallpaper (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 12). As more days pass, she even becomes possessive of the wallpaper as she states that, “ I am determined that nobody shall find [the pattern] out but myself!” (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 12) after finding John’s sister touching the wallpaper. Following this, she stops sleeping during the night and appears to be improving in John’s eyes, but in reality the wallpaper has taken over her senses (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper