Yellow Wallpaper By Gilman Essays - Mental Illness In Fiction

Yellow Wallpaper By Gilman For John Modern day feminists' enjoy looking into the past to find examples of female oppression. This tactic is employed in the hopes of demonstrating that oppression of their sex by the evil male populous has been going on for decades. One such work that is cited by feminists to showcase just how terrible women were treated in the first part of the twentieth century is Charlotte Perkins Gilman's ?The Yellow Wallpaper.? Feminists' are quick to point out that the main character in this story is driven down the path of insanity by her uncaring husband. It is of their opinion that John, the main character's husband, consistently neglects her by keeping her locked away upstairs. Other feminists argue that the main character was not actually insane, rather, she was pushed into a temporary state of delirium as a result of the state of confinement that her husband subjected her to. These same feminists will say that John's consistent misdiagnosis of his wife's condition smacks of incompetence. It is their theory that if the main character were a man during this same period of time, doctors would have treated the condition differently. In other words, men were not diagnosed with hysteria and bedridden for three months when they became depressed. As mentioned before, this is what some modern day feminists think. This is in stark contrast to the interpretation by us modern day realists. John was a good husband that cared deeply about his wife's condition. He is described at the beginning of the story as being ?a physician in high standing? (The Norton Anthology, p. 658). This description alone offers deep insight into what kind of treatment his wife was receiving. It is hard to imagine that any woman who is married to an extremely prominent doctor is going to receive anything less than highest quality of treatment available. John's love for his wife is further exemplified by him obtaining a nanny to watch over the baby until she recovers. He wanted her full, complete recovery to come about in an expedited manner. He obviously was aware of the strain caring for a baby puts upon a lady. Oppressive husbands are more akin to piling all of the burdens of child rearing and house maintenance upon their wives. Here, we have just the opposite. John did everything within his power to relieve the everyday stresses of his beloved wife by acquiring the services of a nanny. His wife was cognizant of this fact, for she plainly states the John loves her dearly, and hates to have her sick (The Norton Anthology, p. 662). The next myth that needs to be dispelled is that of John keeping his wife locked away in the house, thereby causing her to go insane. Feminists would like us to believe that John locked his wife away in a drab, musty cell, forbidding her to venture outside. The story paints a starkly different picture. At the beginning of the story, the character speaks rather fondly of the room, calling it ?as airy and comfortable a room as any one need wish? (The Norton Anthology, p. 660). By her utterances here, one can quite easily ascertain that she is indeed comfortable in her new surroundings. The character is also of absolute liberty to explore the rose garden outside at anytime that she wished. This is proven true by two crucial examples from the story. The first is taken from the characters own mouth, from when she directly states that she ?walks a little in the garden or down that lovely lane, [and] sit[s] on the porch under the roses? (The Norton Anthology, p. 662). By her own admission, she is able to wander outside upon her own free will. The second example that demonstrates the level of freedom that resides with her is the fact that her husband is away all day, and even some nights, attending to other patients. If John is not there to ensure that she is being locked up, how then can one deduce that he is stripping her of any freedoms? She was at complete liberty to move about as she so desired, for absolutely nobody was there to stop her from acting upon her own free will. She stayed inside most of the day primarily because she wished to. The next controversy explored here is that of whether or not the wife was insane by nature, or if it was John that pushed her into the realm of madness. Some feminists may argue