The Yellow Wallpaper A Look Into Post-Partum Depression

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, portrays the life and mind of a woman suffering from post-partum depression in the late eighteenth century. Gilman uses setting to strengthen the impact of her story by allowing the distant country mansion symbolize the loneliness of her narrator, Jane. Gilman also uses flat characters to enhance the depth of Jane’s thoughts; however, Gilman’s use of narrative technique impacts her story the most. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses interior monologue to add impact to Jane’s progression into insanity, to add insight into the relationships in the story, and to increase the depth of Jane’s connection with the yellow wallpaper it self. First, Gilman’s use of†¦show more content†¦In contrast, at the end of the story, Jane’s shocking proclamations of, â€Å"I’ve got out at last,† and, â€Å"In spite of you (John) and Jane. And I have pulled of most of the paper so you can’t put me back,† (336), mark Jane’s final mental collapse. The changes that Jane’s mental state go through are made more powerful by Gilman’s use of interior monologue, which allows the reader to experience the change first hand through Jane’s thoughts. Secondly, not only does interior monologue give impact to Jane’s thoughts toward her situation and illness, but this point of view style gives unique insight into the relationships among Jane and the other characters, especially the those between Jane and her husband, John, and her sister-in-law, Jennie. At the beginning of Gilman’s story, the husband and wife relationship of Jane and John follows the pattern of the time with John taking the part of the dominant yet well-meaning husband, and Jane taking the part of the obedient wife. Except for her forbidden writing, Jane follows John’s treatment guidelines (326); however, throughout the story, the respect and obedience Jane exhibits toward John at the first start to deteriorate, and suspicion and resentment replace it. One example of this change is when Jane states, â€Å"John is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious. I am glad that my case is not serious!† (327). Not only does her paranoia grow toward John, but also toward her sister-in-law, Jennie. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman885 Words   |  4 Pagesand feminism. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the 1900’s. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† has many hidden truths within the story. The story was an embellished version her own struggle with what was most likely post-partum depression. As the story progresses, one can see that she is not receiving proper treatment for her depression and thus it is getting worse. Gilman uses the wallpaper and what she sees in it to symbolize her desire to escape her depression and the controllingRead MoreThe Witch Trail Of The Salem Witch Trails1529 Words   |  7 Pagespostnatal depression to alcoholism †¦and even for social transgressions such as infidelity (‘moral insanity’).† Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a woman of this time, shows that although middle class women had the freedom to pursue domestic endeavors, they still remain subjugated by patriarchal standards. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Gilman shows that the narrator is oppressed, through expectations of marriage, relationships with her husband and her sister in law, and her connection to the wallpaper. First,Read MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper961 Words   |  4 Pages The Yellow Paper is a symbolic story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is a disheartening tale of a woman struggling to free herself from postpartum depression. This story gives an account of an emotionally and intellectual deteriorated woman who is a wife and a mother who is struggling to break free from her metal prison and find peace. The post-partum depression forced her to look for a neurologist doctor who gives a rest cure. She was supposed to have a strict bed rest. The woman livedRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1620 Words   |  7 PagesArianna Giannillo Ms. Stroebel AP English Composition 5 September 2015 The Yellow Wallpaper In the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which takes place in the 1800’s, the main character and her husband are staying in a vacant colonial mansion that has been in the family for many generations. She and John have come to this â€Å"hereditary estate† (Gilman, 1) so that she can rest and heal from her ‘nervous condition.’ John a physician has prescribed absolute rest, not evenRead More Essay on The Yellow Wallpaper: Imprisoned785 Words   |  4 PagesImprisoned in  The Yellow Wallpaper    As man developed more complex social systems, society placed more emphasis of childbearing. Over time, motherhood was raised to the status of â€Å"saintly†. This was certainly true in western cultures during the late 19th/early 20th century.   Charlotte Perkins Gilman did not agree with the image of motherhood that society proposed to its members at the time. â€Å"Arguably ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ reveals women’s frustration in a culture that seemingly glorifies motherhoodRead MoreThe Women Behind The Yellow Wallpaper1675 Words   |  7 PagesBehind the Yellow Wallpaper â€Å" Be plain in dress, and sober in diet; In short, my deary, kiss me, and be quiet.† -Mary Wortley Montagu In a male dominated society, women had little choice when it came to the path of life they would trek upon until death. From the first words of the doctor when they announce, â€Å"it’s a girl†, amidst cries of the baby and the relief of the mother, the path a woman shall take has already been predetermined. Chalotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a harrowingRead MoreMy Deary, Kiss Me, And Be Quiet1670 Words   |  7 Pageswords of the doctor when they announce, â€Å"it’s a girl†, amidst cries of the baby and the relief of the mother, the path a woman shall take has already been predetermined. Chalotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a harrowing short story about a woman diagnosed with post-partum depression and her gradual slip into insanity when she is prescribed the rest-cure, a discredited treatment that only allows two hours of productivity each day. Gilman, the author, not only integ rates stupendousRead MoreInsanity in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman1016 Words   |  4 Pagesfrom the average mind, which is the way the narrator thinks in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. This short story is based on the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman and what she experiences while put under the â€Å"rest cure†. â€Å"Gilman suffers a near mental breakdown in the mid 1800’s, and been prescribed a rest treatment very similar to the one prescribed to the narrator in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† (Korb, Rena. â€Å"An Overview of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. Gale Online Encyclopedia). She writes this story as if it were variousRead More The Yellow Wallpaper770 Words   |  4 Pagesattached to them. In the short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† Gilman demonstrates a woman who has suffered from repression and longs for the freedom from her controlling husband. Gender conflicts play a major role throughout this story. The aut hor portrays these kinds of conflicts through the three main characters, John, Jennie and the narrator. The theme of this story is a womans fall into insanity resulting from isolation from treatment of post-partum depression. Gilman is also telling the story ofRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman699 Words   |  3 Pagesnovel, and short stories. She also became a role model for the feminist movement for her unusual image and behavior. In her intriguing short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, she portrays her feministic point of views. The narrator of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is an unnamed woman. She recently had a child and is going through post-partum depression. Her and her family decided to get away for the summer and stay at a mansion. John, her husband, decides to put her in the room upstairs to keep her away