Yellow Wallpaper Depression

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Charlotte Perkin Gilman was born July 3, 1860, and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. Gilman was a novelist and woman rights activist during her time in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her father, Frederick Beecher Perkins is a relative of the Beecher family. Gilman is the niece of the legendary writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Gilman father abandoned the family, leaving Charlotte mother to rear two children alone. The family moved around constantly during her childhood, which results in her education suffering considerably. But the neglect of her father didn't stop her from being the best-known author that wrote thousands of the greatest works, from short journalism to nonfiction books. In 1884 Gilman married artist …show more content…
The experience from the disease believed to have inspired her to write the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." John, the doctor in the story, assumes to be Gilman doctor Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, who treated her while she was ill with neurasthenia. Dr. Mitchell forbade Charlotte to write suggesting she live as private life as possible. In the story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator endures a disease call postpartum depression, which you can develop after childbirth. Nonetheless, the narrator illness gets worse by seeing female figures on the wallpaper on her bedroom wall and crawls on the floor looking for a way out. Consequently, the author Charlotte Gilman plans to inform readers on how she suffers from this disease after giving birth. Although, it took a while for the reader to understand the story. The story lies a tale of restraint and freedom told in complex symbolism as seen through the eyes of a raging narrator. When examining this story, Gilman added in some of her personal experience such as Charlotte was driving into delusion as a result of the Victorian “rest-cure,” prescribed by Dr. Mitchell which he thought would cure hysteria in women in those …show more content…
The wife transferred against her will to a room on the third floor of the home, which owners previously used as a playroom, gymnasium, and a nursery. The room has yellow wallpaper that serves as a prison where the narrator is a mentally ill person, restricted from the learning activities of reading and writing. The wife rebels against the constraints by keeping a secret journal. When John found her journal he felt she being disobedience to his orders, and he cruelly destroyed her diary. The narrator not having any social interactions are also minimums. The husband travels for different cases he may have in other cities, so the wife regularly left without emotional support from her husband. When John arrives home, his communications are rude, and he dismisses her concerns about her mental condition. The narrator role is clearly to support him and trust foolishly that her personal condition is progressing. John’s arrogant's does not allow him to see that his wife's disorder has worsened. Jennie (John's sister), who maintains the household, is another example of the limited role of women. She busies herself with decorating, managing the kitchen, and oversee Mary taking care of the narrator
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