The Yellow Wall-Paper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-Paper” written in 1892, is a short narrative told through the journal entries of Jane, a woman who is presumably suffering from postpartum depression. Jane’s husband, John, who does not believe she is sick, has arranged for them to spend three months at a rented mansion so she can recover from what he claims to be slight hysterical tendencies. In the interim their newborn baby is being looked after by, Mary, whose relation to the couple is not stated. As part of her recovery, John has forbidden her to write, have any form of stimulus or social interactions, as well as think, or make any decisions as to the course of her own recovery. Though Jennie, John 's sister, has accompanied the couple, Jane, spends most of her time alone while her husband is away tending to patients. During the three month stay at the mansion, Jane constantly debates her inner thoughts; the need to be the woman she was expected to be, versus having the freedom she longs for. Jane begins to hallucinate about a woman trapped behind the yellow wallpaper that covers the walls of her room and subsequently has a mental breakdown. One can conclude, that the cause of Jane’s breakdown was the oppression she suffered at the hands of her husband.

However, one can also conclude, that her struggle to adhere to the expectations of a woman, her dire need to continue writing, the overall oppression she inflicted upon herself, and her fanatic search for the woman behind the yellow wallpaper, were equally contributing factors to her mental