Charlotte Perkins Gillman wrote a story that is considered to be one of the classics when it comes to feminist literature. Helped by her own experiences with patriarchy, it allowed the readers of today to almost relive a woman being driven to madness by a Victorian "rest cure", a once frequently prescribed period of inactivity thought to cure hysteria, depression, nervousness and anxiety in women.
In the period of which this specific piece of literature was created was not only a time where women were looked at as lesser but they were often deemed insane for simple things like reading novels, religious excitement, and being sexually active. Women had minimal rights, even concerning their own mental status and rights. There were instances where not having a menstrual cycle was considered abnormal and a symptom of insanity. Symptoms such as depression after the …show more content…
Her husband, a physician, orders her to not take part in any strenuous activity as it will only make her condition worse. Her husband’s cure confines her to her bedroom which she only leaves rarely. This is a very good representation of how women had no say regarding their mental status. The wife claims the husband is the mental one, and she insists she is fine and doesn 't need treatment. The wife describes the wallpaper as having one of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin” with a color that is a repellent, almost revolting…unclean yellow"(Gilman 793).
As she remains in the room, she begins to slip into depressive psychosis. She begins to see a woman trapped in the yellow wallpaper. The story concludes with the woman circling the room, now completely immersed in her mental illness, removing the wallpaper and stepping over her unconscious husband who had fainted at the realization of his wife 's mental
In the period of which this specific piece of literature was created was not only a time where women were looked at as lesser but they were often deemed insane for simple things like reading novels, religious excitement, and being sexually active. Women had minimal rights, even concerning their own mental status and rights. There were instances where not having a menstrual cycle was considered abnormal and a symptom of insanity. Symptoms such as depression after the …show more content…
Her husband, a physician, orders her to not take part in any strenuous activity as it will only make her condition worse. Her husband’s cure confines her to her bedroom which she only leaves rarely. This is a very good representation of how women had no say regarding their mental status. The wife claims the husband is the mental one, and she insists she is fine and doesn 't need treatment. The wife describes the wallpaper as having one of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin” with a color that is a repellent, almost revolting…unclean yellow"(Gilman 793).
As she remains in the room, she begins to slip into depressive psychosis. She begins to see a woman trapped in the yellow wallpaper. The story concludes with the woman circling the room, now completely immersed in her mental illness, removing the wallpaper and stepping over her unconscious husband who had fainted at the realization of his wife 's mental