In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator tells her story in a series of journal entries which portrays her descent into madness. We as the reader follow her transformation as we are led into the deepest corners of the narrator’s mind and hear her inner most thoughts, yet she remains anonymous as we never even learn her name. Because of this shift in sanity, the narrator’s credibility is constantly in question. Although, the cause of this shift transpires because her capability to express herself is limited due to gender roles at that time period. As a result of being a woman at this time, the narrator had to lose touch with the outside world in order to be heard and gain awareness and understanding of both
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Gilman begins the story by blatantly pointing out the inequalities between the genders, specifically on how women are treated when it comes to mental illness. “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do?”. (792) Despite the narrator’s symptoms and voicing her concerns (not to mention she is the one actually experiencing it), her husband constantly shrugs away her illness, imposing his beliefs on her that she is simply being over dramatic, conforming her to society’s gender roles. His choice to ignore the problems actually adds to the decline of his wife’s mental illnesses. He doesn’t allow her to “work”, meaning she isn’t allowed to write or have hobbies due to the fact that they would be too stressful for her womanly mind. As a result of this, the narrator starts a secret journal in spite of her husband’s orders hoping it will offer her some relief of mind. In the beginning of the story, it’s obvious the narrator complies with the beliefs of her husband – and
Gilman begins the story by blatantly pointing out the inequalities between the genders, specifically on how women are treated when it comes to mental illness. “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do?”. (792) Despite the narrator’s symptoms and voicing her concerns (not to mention she is the one actually experiencing it), her husband constantly shrugs away her illness, imposing his beliefs on her that she is simply being over dramatic, conforming her to society’s gender roles. His choice to ignore the problems actually adds to the decline of his wife’s mental illnesses. He doesn’t allow her to “work”, meaning she isn’t allowed to write or have hobbies due to the fact that they would be too stressful for her womanly mind. As a result of this, the narrator starts a secret journal in spite of her husband’s orders hoping it will offer her some relief of mind. In the beginning of the story, it’s obvious the narrator complies with the beliefs of her husband – and