...Freud, Jung, and Hippocrates in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Tentative thesis: In "The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator suffers post-partum depression, which has been proven to be a legitimate ailment. However, the narrator's disease is made worse because her husband and brother are not aware that the narrator's condition is a medical one, thus "The Yellow Wallpaper" is to make readers aware of this illness through her various psychological issues. Freud’s Theory of “Id” o The narrator’s Id is her journal, and fixation on the wallpaper and haunted aspect of the house. She get pleasure out of this and ends up obsessing over the one aspect of her life that she gains pleasure. o Sigmund Freud said you could hallucinate...
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...The Baby Yellows “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an unnerving tale about a woman and her spiral into psychosis. Mirroring the author’s actual experiences with depression and the “resting cure”, the story criticizes medical care that ignores patient concerns and deprives them of emotional outlets that could have been beneficiary towards a healthy mind. Set in the late nineteenth century, “The Yellow Wallpaper” illustrates the psychological effects of the popular “resting cure” and how the narrator is influcenced by it. While the illness the narrator has is never actually said, it is very heavily implied that she is suffering from postpartum depression. Eventually, her husband’s reliance on the “resting cure” and denying her healthy mental activities is what causes her depression to grow into postpartum psychosis. Postpartum depression is a form of depression typically affecting women after childbirth. Symptoms of postpartum depression include hallucinations and delusions, extreme agitation or anxiety, overwhelming fatigue, bizarre behavior, mood swings, inability or refusal to eat or sleep, and over worrying about the infant. The narrator showcases all of these symptoms, leading to the heavy assumption that she is suffering from postpartum depression. The narrator regularly experiences hallucinations, seeing a woman trapped behind bars in the pattern of the wallpaper. Gilman writes, “The front pattern does move- and no wonder! The woman...
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...The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, highlights the repressed position of most married women during the 19th century. The narrator struggles both at the hands of her family members and internally. Her husband John, a physician, makes an effort to alleviate his wife’s mental state by moving their family into an old style home located in a remote area and isolating her as much as possible. He determines that it is unhealthy for her to entertain, interact with their baby, even to write which she seems to enjoy a great deal. When approaching “The Yellow Wallpaper” one has to keep in mind the importance of the title itself. John decides on their bedroom in the new home and it is covered in yellow wallpaper that the narrator takes great issue with. Using reader response, it is evident that Gilman uses imagery and symbolism to merge the protagonist’s life with that of the “woman” behind the yellow wallpaper. Before an analysis is presented the reader must first understand the marital expectations and male to female dynamic during the time period to which Gilman is writing. Married women faced oppression at the hands of society as well as their husbands. The 1800’s were a time when the wife was to be seen and not heard. It was a general societal expectation that wives if financially secure could have no real issues of their own. This was also because they were not expected to think on their own. They were expected to only reflect the...
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...change the mood and the atmosphere of a story. The year in which the story is taking place can change the choices characters are able to make and the way society views the character’s actions. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner the time period and physical location confines characters and affects the outcome of the story. Gilman and Faulkner limit their characters in temporal and spatial setting to show the limitations of women in the physical, mental, and social aspects of life. First, Gilman...
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...Erica M. Blair Erin Adair-Hodges English 1102-52 August 12, 2010 Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder in “The Yellow Wallpaper”: A Textual Analysis Clinical psychology was a field of major interest in the 19th century, but its early theories and diagnoses are now obsolete. Since its inception, mental illness has been a concept used to disenfranchise and stigmatize eccentric individuals. However, its use against women by men in the 19th century was profoundly great. Some mental disorders had no root in science or observation but were social constructs used to control and manipulate women. A modern, scientific analysis of Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” reveals that it’s heroine doesn’t suffer from the socially constructed “nervous depression”, but from a real clinical diagnosis: Bipolar I Disorder. Through the course of this story, Jane displays all the necessary criteria to receive a diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder. Jane describes herself as being tired and depressed. She has irregular sleeping, eating and activity patterns. Through her writing, she conveys anxiety, paranoia, and delusions. The most damaging part of her disorder is the hallucinations she experiences as witnessed by her descriptions and personification of the wallpaper in the nursery. The text reveals through her own words, as well as her writing style, that she transitions from the depressive phase of Bipolar I Disorder to full-blown mania with psychosis. From the beginning of the story, Jane presents...
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...Depression The short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman brings to light the mistreatment of women’s mental health issues in the late nineteenth century in the American society. Rena Korb is a writer and editor says, “’The Yellow Wallpaper’ commands attention not only for the harrowing journey into madness it portrays, but also for its realism” ("The Yellow Wallpaper" 284). In the story "The Yellow Wallpaper," a woman falls into postpartum depression and her doctor recommended a treatment called the “rest cure,” which contributed to her madness because her condition was not yet understood and therefore never diagnosed. The story "The Yellow Wallpaper” was based on Gilman’s personal experience...
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...The Yellow Wallpaper: A Woman's Struggle Pregnancy and childbirth are very emotional times in a woman's life and many women suffer from the "baby blues." The innocent nickname for postpartum depression is deceptive because it down plays the severity of this condition. Although she was not formally diagnosed with postpartum depression, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) developed a severe depression after the birth of her only child (Kennedy et. al. 424). Unfortunately, she was treated by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, who forbade her to write and prescribed only bed rest and quiet for recovery (Kennedy et al. 424). Her condition only worsened and ultimately resulted in divorce (Kennedy and Gioia 424). Gilman's literary indictment of Dr. Mitchell's ineffective treatment came to life in the story "The Yellow Wallpaper." On the surface, this gothic tale seems only to relate one woman's struggle with mental illness, but because Guilman was a prominent feminist and social thinker she incorporated themes of women's rights and the poor relationships between husbands and wives (Kennedy and Gioia 424). Guilman cleverly manipulates the setting to support her themes and set the eerie mood. Upon first reading "The Yellow Wallpaper," the reader may see the relationship between the narrator and her husband John as caring, but with examination one will find that the narrator is repeatedly belittled and demeaned by her husband. On first arriving at the vacation home John chooses...
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...at the literature piece “The Yellow Wallpaper” the most obvious symbol in this piece is the yellow wallpaper. In the literature piece, “The Story of an Hour” one symbol in this piece is the open window. Lastly, in the literature piece “A Good Man is Hard to find” one symbol in this piece is the grandmother’s hat. All these symbols in the different literature pieces are key to telling the story. It lets the reader know the author wants you to understand a certain mood or emotion by hinting it and not just flat out saying it. The narrator and her husband...
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...Carolyn A. Holley English 227 27 June 2010 The Yellow Wallpaper: Analyzing Literary Madness A short story about a new mother, happily married to a doting husband-who also happens to be a well respected doctor- relaxing at a manor in the countryside does not sounds like the beginnings to a tale of paranoia and psychosis; but in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper it is exactly that. The setting in this story is what gives it its depth and gives relevancy to the plot. The Yellow Wallpaper gives insight into the deranged mind of woman whose obsession and delusions about particularly hideous wallpaper that causes her mental and physical state to creep into darkness. Gilman, herself, suffered from postpartum depression and had a history of mental illness which is the reason the story reads so convincingly. The author’s views on feminism and women’s roles in society in her own life and setting also come into play repeatedly throughout the story in the interactions with the main character. Imagine a sprawling colonial mansion surrounded by lush gardens, filled with airy rooms and rich furniture is what you find yourself calling home. Jane’s loving husband, John, takes care of all the finances, there is a nanny, Mary, to take care of your child, and your precious sister-in-law, Jennie, to keep the house in order fills the mansion with life. Does this scenario sound bad in any way to the? From the perspective of the main character this is absolute torture. The setting...
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...Krista Dorn Professor Aguilar English 1302-059 July 22, 2015 Narrator Analysis of “The Yellow Wallpaper” The short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, gives readers a first hand glimpse into the mind of a mentally disturbed woman fighting numerous and constant battles within herself and with others, one of them being post partum depression. The story is set in a historical period when it was typical for men to dominate over women. As illustrated in this story, the mentally disordered woman, possibly named Jane, is clearly at the mercy of her physician husband, John. He tells her what she can and cannot do, where she will sleep, and when she will take her medicine. Stetson consistently portrays the narrator as a progressively mentally disturbed woman that cannot seem to escape the thought that the wallpaper in her room takes on a life of its own while having some sort of power over her that she is not able to control. The unreliable narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” piques unceasing curiosity while describing more and more detailed and subjective ways she is reaching total insanity; telling the story from a first person point of view makes this story much more captivating than if told in a third person limited type narrative. By the woman’s early admittance that she is suffering from a temporary nervous depression, she immediately establishes herself as an unreliable narrator. An unreliable narrator is specifically defined as a...
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...deranged” (Dictionary.com). In “The Yellow wall Paper” by Charlotte Gilman, “Young Goodman Brown” By Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “A Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Poe insanity is the most prevalent theme. Each story takes place in a prison like environment and each protagonist is suffering from a form of insanity. The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman takes place in the late 19th century , which anchors it in a very specific historical moment in terms of women and their perceived abilities. The narrator and her husband John are renting a beautiful, isolated estate for the summer. The narrator says the house is “The most beautiful place! It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of the English places that you read about. For there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people” (Gilman pg.552). It’s a fancy house but more saliently, it stands back away from the road and contains many "locks" and "separate little houses." Overall, this is a very isolating place. It’s separate from the road and therefore could be considered separated from society; the house itself is described as a place that binds and restricts. Within the house the narrator is primarily confined to a “big, airy room….with windows that look all ways” (Gilman, 552). This room is a converted nursery with the grimy yellow wallpaper still on the wall. In keeping with the...
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...Alex Moraga Professor Dreiling English 102 21, June 2014 Opinion Essay Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “ The Yellow Wallpaper” A Woman’s Journey from Subservience to Freedom Are male and female minds created equal? Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows us the ideals towards women, held by society in the late 1800’s. Her story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written in the first person point of view, takes us on a journey through the mind of the narrator. The narrator secretly writes in a diary and as we read through her diary entries, we are able to see that during this time in history, women were seen as weak, meek and humble. They were expected to be subservient to men and unequal to their male counterparts in all aspects. Men are seen as being superior to women and godlike. As we read the diary we are looking into her mind, we see how she thinks and how she is expected to think. We meet her as a subservient woman who obeys and believes in her husband. By the end of the journey she has freed herself mentally and shows us that men can be weak. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, is a story of a woman’s mental journey to freedom. From the very beginning of the story the narrator gives us insight into her mind. In today’s times we would view her ability to wonder and question as creative. During these times, her inquisitive mind was seen as an illness. The narrator and her husband are off to a summer getaway. The summer getaway was really a “cure” prescribed...
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...use of detail in a short story, from intricate descriptions of settings to the choice of individual words, allows for the atmosphere, setting and mood of the story to be effectively established, and serves to draw the reader into the world of the story, making them a silent, incorporeal character in the narrative. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman uses detail in a highly effect manner, telling the reader only what they absolutely need to know, leaving the rest unspoken. The period of the story is set by the relationships between the characters, the dominant husband and the submissive wife, as well as by the use of period language, such as the mention of “a slight hysterical tendency”. Through her gradual shift from including details of the normal elements of the narrator’s life, such as her surroundings and the activities of her husband and others, to speaking only of the wallpaper and the woman trapped inside Gilman allows the reader to join the narrator on her journey into insanity. The story’s abrupt ending at the climax of the journey serves to draw the reader in further, inviting her to fill in the details as to how the narrator’s story concludes. The focus on a single character also serves to engage the reader in the narrative, quickly establishing a vantage point from which to view and experience the story. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the reader experiences...
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...Museum Paper # 1 Robert Duncan: Wallpaper Design 1952-1954 Art is the expression of creative skill and imagination. As I am preparing to finish this course I walk away with a greater appreciation for the art world. Art is all around, and we can all create majestic pieces we just need to express our inner most creative skill. As I visited the Art museums this semester my favorite of the two was the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The parking structure for the museum really sets up the individual for a treat! When I parked my car I spent about a half hour walking through the structure admiring all of the murals on the wall. My roommate actually accompanied me and we took a lot of pictures. It was really neat! What I love about this art museum is that you can really see the culture, of the art. The inside is an elegant white and the pieces featured are amazing. One piece in particular really stuck out to me. Robert Duncan made the piece, Wallpaper Design, in 1952-1954. While I was in the museum I read a little about Robert Duncan’s background, Interestingly enough, Robert Duncan was an American Poet, who traveled nation wide, before settling in San Francisco where he wrote his best book, “The opening of the field.” During his college years at Berkeley, Duncan was captivated by surreal art. Painter friends inspired him, to continue to make artwork using pencil, pen, and crayon. He also frequently illustrated his own books. The piece Wallpaper Design is a 20th century design...
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...external factors can affect someone’s mental health. While it doesn’t rule it out, I would have been curious to see it integrated into a definition. Later in the article, it says that “human experience is a cacophony of the cultural, biological, historical, ecological, political and psychological aspects of life” (Warne and McAndrew 160). Although this is not an accepted definition, the article at least acknowledges that things outside of the human body will affect what is inside the human body. That was useful to me especially since the things happening around my character affect her mood so easily, like the flowers, the sky, the woman, and her dog, as well as the absence of these things causing her to slip farther...
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