Madness In The Yellow Wallpaper, By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

When men are oppressed it's a tragedy,when women are oppressed it's a tradition. Women have been facing oppression for so long that they have become accustomed to it. It is considered to be a social norm for women to be dominated by men. In literature, during the 19th century, women were often portrayed as submissives to men. During this time period women were controlled by “superiors” like their husbands or fathers. “ The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an excellent example of literature that portrays the submissions of women toward men. “ The Yellow Wallpaper” is an accurate ,useful description of the process of a woman's descent into madness through oppression. Hysteria was the first mental disorder that was referenced …show more content…
Melampus spoke of the women’s madness as derived from their uterus being poisoned by venomous humors, due to a lack of orgasms and “uterine melancholy” Thus arose the idea of a female madness related to the lack of a normal sexual life: Plato, in Timaeus, argues that the uterus is sad and unfortunate when it does not join with the male and does not give rise to a new birth, and Aristotle and Hippocrates were of the same opinion (Women and Hysteria In the history of Mental Health …show more content…
The narrator is confine in a house and is forced to do nothings because is recommended for her mental illness. Gilman reveals to the reader's how quickly it is for insanity takes hold on a person when it is misunderstood. Isolating a person from the rest of the world make matters worse. The unnamed narrator`s husband ,John, plays a major role in the process of the narrator going mad .“ ...he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down i figures...you see he doesn't believe i am sick! (Gilman,1)” John believes that his wife is not really sick because he couldn't see the illness physically.As he is both her husband and a physician, johns`s word carries ultimate authority for the speaker. John considers his wife sickness to be “a slight hysterical tendencies”, this indicates that it is not seen as a very important issue and its taken lightly. It is also ironic because her illness is not “sligh” by any means. However through John `s condescending tone and authoritative attitude he repressed the speaker. John`s character can then be read as a symbol for the patriarchal society of the