The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper

What would you do if your wife or your relative had postpartum depression after giving birth to her child? Would you try to help her by talking to her, or by taking her to a psychologist, or would you lock her in a house where she has no one to talk to and doesn’t get any professional help? Postpartum depression is a type of depression that occurs within three months following childbirth and symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, marked illogical thought, thinking of suicide, and fear of hurting the baby (“Dictionary of Psychology” 551). Recent research shows that postpartum depression affects 10 percent of women in the months following the birth of a child (Depression Statistics: Women Fact Information).

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, вЂ"who’s also been through postpartum depression- (Gilman 366), is a fictional story about a woman, who actually has postpartum depression but, unfortunately, is misdiagnosed by her physician husband and brother (367). Therefore, because she is misdiagnosed and doesn’t actually have “temporary nervous depression” as her husband and brother says (367), the treatment that her husband and brother give her is a wrong treatment technique (leaving her alone, not letting her do anything but rest, not letting her talk about her condition, etc…), which at the end causes her to go totally insane, even though in the beginning she shows no signs of insanity. It is fundamental to understand two of the characters, the theme, and the setting of the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, in order to achieve a deeper understanding and a greater enjoyment of the story and to figure out what the author is trying to indicate to the readers.

It would be tough to appreciate the story and the theme of the story if there was not enough information about the two most important characters: John (the husband) and the new mom who is going through postpartum depression. One of the main characters is John, the husband of the new mom. Even though he doesn’t appear that much in the story, his existence is important for the story since he is one of the people, actually, the person who is responsible for his wife’s insanity at the end. John is a physician, but even though he is a physician, he misdiagnoses his own wife’s psychological problem (Gilman 367).

Actually, it is normal for him to misdiagnose it, since he is not a psychologist. However, still, if he didn’t know what to do, it would have been better if he took her to someone professional in that field, which would help her a lot. He tries to take control over her by trying to convince her that there is nothing wrong with her. So, in my opinion, he is the main cause of her insanity by leaving her alone, not supporting her, not talking to her about her problems, and not letting her to talk to anyone or do anything but “rest” in a house that she doesn’t even feel comfortable in (Gilman 367, 368). I think, he represents the late 1800s’ and the early 1900s’ men’s obsession of having control on their women and wives.

The new mom is a woman who goes through postpartum depression after giving birth to her, probably, first child. We can understand that she has postpartum depression when she says, “It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous” (Gilman 369). In the beginning of the story, she is aware of her misdiagnosis, but she mentions her helplessness by saying “John is a physician, and perhaps…that is one reason I do not get well faster” (Gilman 367), and “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?” (Gilman 367). She knows that her husband’s and her brother’s treatment way is wrong when she says, “…I must say what I feel and think in some way вЂ" it is such a relief!” (Gilman 372) therefore, she talks about her feelings by keeping a journal where she writes almost each day, since she has nothing else to do. Then, day by day, even though she is talking about her feelings somehow, her condition gets worse and she starts to see hallucinations and delusions which lead the reader to conclude that she’s slowly going insane. She gets obsessed with the wallpaper of their bedroom and says that she sees a woman in it who is trying to get out of it (Gilman 371, 375-378), which in my opinion, the woman in the wallpaper represents the new mom, who is trying to get out of the house and do something that, she wants to do. And at the end, we see that she totally goes insane when she rips all the wallpaper off and creeps on the floor telling her husband, “I’ve got out at last, in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” (Gilman 378). In my opinion, the new mom in this story represents the women’s helplessness and weakness towards men during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Another important aspect of the story that the reader should consider in order to understand it, is the theme: the main idea, the topic of the story. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was