Gilman was able to contribute to this narrative with short stories she published such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” which follows the story of an unnamed narrator who gets increasingly insane and eventually ends up having a mental break. Through literature like this, Gilman was able to express the different feelings that can come after childbirth and why a restful treatment isn’t the best for every patient. Gilman herself faced what is known as postpartum depression after she gave birth to her first (and only) child and she was told by a physician that in order to be freed of her madness, she needed to rest and “never touch a pen, brush, or pencil again” (Gilman). To Gilman, this was isolating and it did not help her get better and, similar to the unnamed narrator, she went completely insane. The short story is Gilman’s way of protecting other women from the same treatment. In fact, she sent a copy of “The Yellow Wallpaper” to the very same physician who said all she needs is rest and although “he never acknowledged it,” the story did help another doctor to “alter his treatment of neurasthenia”
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