"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, A case of Postpartum Depression
Several analyses have been made of the book "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman mostly focusing on patriarchal society as the main source of narrator’s mental illness. However, less has depicted acknowledgement of legitimate biological causes of depression. Postpartum depression is often diagnosed in women especially new mothers. This is characterized by mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty in sleeping. Some women can experience long-lasting depression that can lead to postpartum psychosis. Symptoms of this psychosis may include; hallucinations, delusions, hyperactivity, paranoia, rapid mood swings, insomnia, unsupported feelings of worthlessness and even thoughts of death. In the modern society, postpartum psychosis is temporary and treatable with professional help. The paper analyses the possibilities of society induced depression and
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The prison-like setting of The Yellow Wallpaper reinforces the popular belief during the early twentieth century of mental illness as a prison—just another of Gilman’s criticisms of psychology of the time. Gilman compares the room –having a bed that is nailed to the floor, rings on the wall and a decorated yellow wallpaper to a nursery (Scott, 201). Such a description seems more like an adult asylum. The narrator expresses a dislike of the room and wishes for another with airy windows to the decline of her husband. This is evidence of the control of men over women in the patriarchal society of Gilman’s. The society at the time insisted on a rest cure, which forces the narrator to adopt to her
and having carefully analyzed the text, I am leaning towards a diagnosis of, major depressive disorder. The observed symptoms, which the protagonist seems to line up with the following symptoms listed in for Major depressive disorder in the DSM-5 checklist provided in the book (Comer, 2014). In the short story, the protagonist has mentioned and expressed with her actions feeling: in a depressed mood for most of the day, Daily diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activates for most of the day, Decrease in daily appetite, experiencing hypersomnia, daily fatigue or loss of energy (Comer, 2014). These things mentioned are symptoms that are categorized as being
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” tells the story of a woman suffering from post-partum depression, undergoing the sexist psychological treatments of mental health, that took place during the late nineteenth century. The narrator in Gilman’s story writes about being forced to do nothing, and how that she feels that is the worst possible treatment for her. In this particular scene, the narrator writes that she thinks normal work would do her some good, and that writing allows her to vent, and get across her ideas that no one seems to listen to. Gilman’s use of the rhetorical appeal pathos, first-person point of view, and forceful tone convey her message that confinement is not a good cure for mental health, and that writing,
The “rest cure” was a common treatment for depression in women in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Women were locked in a room involuntarily and forced to “rest.” The patient was locked in a room and not allowed to leave or function in any type of way. The narrator in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story The Yellow Wallpaper is subjected to this cure. The story is written to expose the cruelty of the “resting cure”. Gilman uses the wall paper to represent the narrators sense of entrapment, the notion of creativity gone astray, and a distraction that becomes an obsession.
Through a woman's perspective of assumed insanity, Charlotte Perkins Gilman comments on the role of the female in the late nineteenth century society in relation to her male counterpart in her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." Gilman uses her own experience with mental instability to show the lack of power that women wielded in shaping the course of their psychological treatment. Further she uses vivid and horrific imagery to draw on the imagination of the reader to conceive the terrors within the mind of the psychologically wounded.
In the "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman describes her postpartum depression through the character of Jane. Jane was locked up for bed rest and was not able to go outside to help alleviate her nervous condition. Jane develops an attachment to the wallpaper and discovers a woman in the wallpaper. This shows that her physical treatment is only leading her to madness. The background of postpartum depression can be summarized by the symptoms of postpartum depression, the current treatment, and its prevention. Many people ask themselves what happens if postpartum depression gets really bad or what increases their chances. Jane's treatment can show what can happen if it is
Women in the eighteenth century were confined by their husbands, and imprisoned in their own homes. Women had no rights to their own lives, or a say so in how to live it. Women at this time struggled for equality, and they were unable to think or live for themselves. If they showed any signs of being unhappy they were condemned by society and their master. In this process many women transcended into severe nervous depression. In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, we observe a woman’s descent into madness, and we can better understand how women of this time suffered with oppression. This story is a glimpse of Gilman’s real life struggle with gender roles, inner conflict,
“The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells the story of a woman’s descent into madness as a result of postpartum psychosis. Postpartum psychosis is a condition that affects between one and two of every thousand live births. The condition of postpartum psychosis usually begins within two weeks of giving birth and sometimes within a matter of days. (“Depression”, 2009)
In the short story. "The Yellow Wallpaper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, we are introduced to a woman, the narrator, who suffers from postpartum depression, a disorder in women that results from childbirth. This disorder can have serious effects on the individual and may result in extreme behaviors such as suicide. (Mahoney 1) The narrator of the story is symbolic of Gilman, as she had experienced this illness after the birth of her daughter. (Gilman 181) Postpartum depression is a serious issue that must be dealt with in order to help its victums carry on with everyday life. In order for society to effictively help those affected with postpartum depression, they must know what it is, what its symptoms are,
Short Stories normally address issues in society at the current time of the story which these issues sometime end up being timeless issues that still occur in the current time period. For instance, in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman the story deals with the issue of postpartum depression in new mothers. While postpartum depression is still a very real and current topic in today’s society. Current society handles the issue differently than when the “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written. The difference in modern day and past society is contributed to the increasing knowledge of postpartum depression that has led to a new view for society, improved treatments, and a better approach for support from family. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Life for a woman is never the same after she gives birth to a child because, even before the woman goes through labor, she has experienced the effects an unborn baby has on her body; a woman, the birth giver, changes the most because she loses something that has been a part of her body for nine months. During the time right after the birth, she suffers from separation. The predominant reason for this is because, during the pregnancy, the hormonal levels of a woman are often disrupted and confused. They increase and decrease frequently, yet soon finds an equilibrium while the baby grows inside the womb. After the birth, the hormone levels are trying to balance again, after the rises and falls due to pregnancy, which causes a woman’s emotions
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) whom is most acclaimed for her short story The Yellow Wallpaper (1891) was a women’s author that was relatively revolutionary. Gilman makes an appalling picture of captivity and confinement in the short story, outlining a semi-personal photo of a young lady experiencing the rest cure treatment by her spouse, whom in addition to being her husband was also her therapist. Gilman misused the rest cure in The Yellow Wallpaper to alarm other ladies of the harming impacts of the treatment.
Together she and her husband had a daughter named Katherine. Although this seems as if it should be an optimistic aspect of her life, it seems it may have caused her more trauma than ever expected. During this marriage, Gilman experienced a case of extreme depression. Commonly portrayed during this time, she was forced to endure an inhumane treatment known as the rest cure. Her horrid experience with this “treatment” is what is believed to have inspired her greatest work, The Yellow Wallpaper, in which she provides vivid description of how it feels to be confined within a small space with no activity available. Through the eyes of a fictional woman, Gilman perfectly outlines the life of an “ill” woman during this time. This unprecedented work instantly changed the outlook of many regarding this familiar remedy
In Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, she points out the societal norms for women and the injustice they faced when it came to the societal expectations of women and the treatment from their husbands. Gilman’s main character progresses from being mentally ill to mentally insane, all because of
The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short autobiography story that illustrates an emotional downturn of the narrator who is also a mother and a wife suffering from post-partum depression. This story establishes an intellectual deterioration in the condition of the narrator as she searches for peace and negotiation of control in a male-dominated world.
depression. In order to cure this depression, John, Jane’s husband and a doctor, administer the