The suffering of a Depressed Woman In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” we get to see how the gender division affected woman in the nineteenth century. We met the narrator whose name in the end is secretly revealed as Jane and she is suffering from nervous depression. Jane is under her husband’s care, John, who is a physician. The narrator was a victim of a patriarchal culture where women were not equally respected like a man; affecting her marriage, personal life and health condition. John did not mean to hurt her and wanted to help her, but he misguided her unintentionally. Jane struggles with her emotions which forces her to a desperate situation. There is evidence throughout the story that reinforces my argument. I believe that Gilman’s purpose for writing this story was to share her own experience and demonstrate how women used to be second class citizens. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born on July 3, 1860, in Hartford Connecticut. In 1892 she published her famous short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” a story to encourage women to gain economic independence (Bibliography). It is known that “The Yellow Wallpaper” was based on a real life experience she lived. After her first marriage, she got married for a second time with her cousin and wrote other stories too. In the beginning of the story, the narrator demonstrates how she has little authority and cannot argue much about it, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do?
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(Gilman 648). It is clear that her husband’s voice is very powerful making her own voice to be unimportant. In the article “The Writings on the Wall”, Suess also mentions the patriarchal society that the narrator –or Gilman- went through during that time period, “The story represents patriarchy or specifically the arrogant abuse of patriarchal authority” (Suess 81). Unfortunately due to the patriarchal traditions in the late nineteenth century, the narrator had to obey her husband’s orders. In addition, Suess claims in her article that Gilman made visual descriptions that show that, “Gilman makes it clear that the world of the story is patriarchal” (Suess 86). This proves that Jane was a victim of gender division and it indeed led her to worsen her health condition. John’s actions against his wife were patriotic and could have not been questioned, for his word was unarguable. Jane was living a life where she had no authority and had no power to change it. Because of Jane’s depression, John now has more control over her. He is more of a doctor than a husband to Jane and this affects their marriage. He has special orders for her everyday and has prohibited her from writing, “I am absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again” (Gilman 648). This proves that John’s commands were tough; he was a ruler. He spends most of the days at work leaving her most of the time without his attention. When she tries to express her feelings; he does not listen and belittles her thoughts, “you really are better, dear, whether you see it or not. I am a doctor, dear, and I know” (Gilman 652). John thought he was doing the right thing by providing Jane with the rest cure treatment, “the best cure for female neurasthenes was to reorient them to domestic life” (Poirier 19). This is where he misguided her unintentionally. His primary focus was being a doctor and secondary a husband. He fails to connect with his wife as a spouse, “the power of John’s medical diagnosis, as Treichler perceptively points out, goes far beyond the limits of loving advice” (Suess 86). This makes Jane feel much more depressed and it starts to affect her personal life. Jane goes on with the rest treatment because she has no other option, but it starts to affect her personal life too. As we know, she has been forbidden to do anything active and has no power to change that. But with all the things she has going on in her mind
(Gilman 648). It is clear that her husband’s voice is very powerful making her own voice to be unimportant. In the article “The Writings on the Wall”, Suess also mentions the patriarchal society that the narrator –or Gilman- went through during that time period, “The story represents patriarchy or specifically the arrogant abuse of patriarchal authority” (Suess 81). Unfortunately due to the patriarchal traditions in the late nineteenth century, the narrator had to obey her husband’s orders. In addition, Suess claims in her article that Gilman made visual descriptions that show that, “Gilman makes it clear that the world of the story is patriarchal” (Suess 86). This proves that Jane was a victim of gender division and it indeed led her to worsen her health condition. John’s actions against his wife were patriotic and could have not been questioned, for his word was unarguable. Jane was living a life where she had no authority and had no power to change it. Because of Jane’s depression, John now has more control over her. He is more of a doctor than a husband to Jane and this affects their marriage. He has special orders for her everyday and has prohibited her from writing, “I am absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again” (Gilman 648). This proves that John’s commands were tough; he was a ruler. He spends most of the days at work leaving her most of the time without his attention. When she tries to express her feelings; he does not listen and belittles her thoughts, “you really are better, dear, whether you see it or not. I am a doctor, dear, and I know” (Gilman 652). John thought he was doing the right thing by providing Jane with the rest cure treatment, “the best cure for female neurasthenes was to reorient them to domestic life” (Poirier 19). This is where he misguided her unintentionally. His primary focus was being a doctor and secondary a husband. He fails to connect with his wife as a spouse, “the power of John’s medical diagnosis, as Treichler perceptively points out, goes far beyond the limits of loving advice” (Suess 86). This makes Jane feel much more depressed and it starts to affect her personal life. Jane goes on with the rest treatment because she has no other option, but it starts to affect her personal life too. As we know, she has been forbidden to do anything active and has no power to change that. But with all the things she has going on in her mind