The Lack Of Creativity In The Yellow Wallpaper By John Gilman

Famous authors and artists are often lauded for the madness that lurks behind their works. They were allowed to freely express themselves through a variety of media, whether it was music, art, or even through narrative. Their popularities stemmed from their abilities to envision new, imaginative ideas that had not been thought of before, at least by any ‘sane’ person. However, their situations would not be the same had someone stifled their creativity; their creativity was even an outlet for some who suffered from illnesses. Gilman explores this idea in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” in order to demonstrate how the lack of creativity can affect the healing process and the mind. The fixation the narrator has with the yellow wallpaper …show more content…
Everyone has an innate need to be creative in their lives and this is not something that should be silenced like how John forbids the narrator to participate in any mental stimulation; imagination and ingenuity should be celebrated. Ettun believes that when people are hurt that they mostly just feel “a sense of being trapped,” but by allowing them to be creative, it “opens the door of an alternative possibility” (2). The longer a person just lays on a hospital bed, powerless to go anywhere or do anything, the more he needs to the ability to create because it allows him to express himself in new ways. Instead of having his mind slowly depreciate, he can spend his energy focusing on writing poetry about the emotions he’s feeling or even write a story about a past experience that was important to him. John’s issue is that he has forgotten that his wife “also has a healthy, active core identity that defined [her] in the past” and only views her “through the lens of the disease” (Ettun 2). He treats his wife like a child when he talks to her, calling her a “blessed little goose” and treating her like she has entirely lost her mind (Gilman 67). The narrator is unable to cope with the situation, since she is deprived of all stimulation because her husband believes she just needs to stay still and not think about anything at all. A healthy dosage of creativity is the only thing John needs to prescribe to her; she does not need any more of John’s “patriarchal medicine” (Suess 86). Allowing people to be creative lets them reconnect with themselves and gives them a sense of fulfillment; something many patients desperately need since they are dependent on caretakers for