Freedom. What is freedom? According to Webster, freedom is the quality or state of being free (Webster). In the story, The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator retreats into her own mind to escape the confinements of her world to find her freedom. This tells us that women were very oppressed in this era. Women were thought as property. Gilman’s writing gives a look into the misogynistic views and suppression in that time period. Tying in her own experience to the “rest cure”, Gilman shows us that it can really make you insane. Soon after the birth of her daughter, Gilman fell into a deep depression. Many have concluded that she had suffered from post-partum depression, which was not thought of at the time. After months of being depressed, she sought out the help of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell. Mitchell prescribed her his “famous rest cure”. The cure required one to stay in bed and to not do anything or anything intellectual, such as writing or painting. In her own words, Gilman tells us what it was like being trapped under the cure.
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Gilman sought the help of a close friend, and went back to work. Her verge with almost mental death gave Gilman the idea to write The Yellow Wallpaper, along with its exaggeration and embellishments (Gilman didn’t experience hallucinations). Gilman’s intentions were to not make people crazy, but to save people from being driven
Gilman sought the help of a close friend, and went back to work. Her verge with almost mental death gave Gilman the idea to write The Yellow Wallpaper, along with its exaggeration and embellishments (Gilman didn’t experience hallucinations). Gilman’s intentions were to not make people crazy, but to save people from being driven