The Yellow Wallpaper Mental Marriage Essay

Mental Marriage The short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, represents the relationship between the nineteenth century concept of marriage and the deterioration of the narrator’s mental health. Throughout the story, the narrator’s husband, John, continuously keeps tabs on her and controls the majority of her actions. The imbalance of power between John and herself was not uncommon for a nineteenth century marriage. According to the narrator, she and her husband John were “mere ordinary people” (Gilman 379), so their marriage encompassed the typical characteristics of the time period. As the power stayed with the husband during the story, the narrator’s mental health kept declining. She believed John had her best interests in mind, yet her health kept plummeting down the drain. The decline of the narrator’s mental health in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is not simply a physical or mental deterioration of the character, but it symbolizes the nineteenth century concept of marriage. …show more content…
She was the only character who could experience the depression she was enduring, but her husband shot down every suggestion that she provided. John would not allow his wife to do anything; except, lay around and rest. Regarding her husband’s demands the narrator states that, “Personally, I disagree with their [her husband and sister in-law’s] ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (Gilman 380). The narrator’s words reflect the point that in her mind she may know what is best for her mental state, but she is unable to go against her husband’s wishes. The narrator’s inability to make choices regarding her worsening state of mind progresses the idea of the nineteenth century male dominated