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Example research essay topic: Temporary Nervous Depression Gilman The Yellow - 1,180 words

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The Yellow Wallpaper- A Descriptive Descent Into Madness in the Nineteenth Century Women in literature have often been portrayed as submissive to men. Literature of the nineteenth century often characterized women as oppressed by society, as well as by the male influences in their lives (Dock 52). Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper presents a descriptive journalistic / clinical account of a womans gradual descent into madness at the hands of her domineering husband (Bak 39). Gilman once wrote, Womens subordination will only end when women lead the struggle for their own autonomy, thereby freeing man as well as themselves, because man suffers from the distortions that come from dominance, just as women are scarred by the subjugation imposed upon them (q. in Gardarowski 2).

The Yellow Wallpaper brilliantly illustrates this philosophy. The narrators declining mental health is reflected through the characteristics of the house she is trapped in and her husband, while trying to protect her, is actually destroying her. The narrator of the story goes with her doctor / husband to stay in a colonial mansion for the summer. The house is supposed to be a place where she can recover from severe postpartum depression.

She loves her baby, but because of her depression she is not able to take care of him. It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear boy! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous (Gilman, The Yellow 107). From the outset, the reader is given a sense of the domineering tendencies from the narrators husband, John (Dock 61). The narrator tells the reader: John is a physician, and perhaps (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind) perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster (Gilman, The Yellow 105).

It is painfully obvious that she feels trapped and unable to express her fears to her husband: You see, he does not believe I am sick. And what can one do? If a physician of high standing and ones own husband assure 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? (105) Her husband is not the only male figure who dominates and oppresses her. Her brother, also a doctor, says the same thing about her illness (105). Since the story is written in diary format, the reader feels especially close to the narrator (Dock 53). Gilman uses her dramatic pictorial to connect the reader to the narrators innermost thoughts.

The dominance of the narrators husband, and her reaction to it, is reflected throughout the story. The narrator is continually submissive, bowing to her husbands wishes, even though she is unhappy and depressed. Her husband has adopted the idea that she must have complete rest if she is to recover. This is a direct parallel to Gilman's life. Charlotte Gilman was prescribed this exact therapy by a neurologist named S. Weir Mitchell.

By Gilman mentioning Mitchell by name in her short story, she is showing her disgust in his malpractice (Gilman, Why I Wrote 1). She was instructed to live a domestic life, told to only engage in intellectual activities two hours a day, and never to touch a pen, brush, or pencil again as long as she lived (1). In the story, the narrators husband, John, does not want her to work. So I... am absolutely forbidden to work until I am well again (Gilman, The Yellow 105).

Then narrator of the story knows that writing and socializing would help her recover faster. But because she allows the male figures in her life to dominate and control her treatment, she does not: I sometimes fancy that in my condition, if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me It is also a direct allusion to Gilman's personal experience that the narrator is experiencing severe postpartum depression. Gilman suffered from the same malady after the birth of her own daughter (Pringle 132). The symbolism utilized by Gilman is somewhat askew from the conventional. A house usually symbolizes security. In the story the opposite is true.

The protagonist, whose name we never truly learn, feels trapped by the walls of the house; just as she is trapped by her mental illness (Gilman, Why I Wrote 1). The windows of her room, which normally would symbolize a sense of freedom, are barred, holding her in (Bak 40). It is interesting that the room the husband chooses for the narrator, the room she hates, is a nursery (Coffey). The narrator describes the nursery as being atrocious (Gilman, The Yellow 106). The narrators response to the room is a further example of her submissive behavior: I dont like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs that opened onto the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old fashioned chintz hangings!

But John would not hear of it. (106) It is clear that the narrators husband loves her very much. He is tender with her and speaks to her in a loving, sometimes child-like manner. However, he obviously does not want anyone knowing the extent of his wifes mental illness, referring to it as a temporary nervous depression a slight hysterical tendency (105). This is also a reflection of the way women and mental illnesses were perceived in the nineteenth century (Kasmer 7).

Women were supposed to let the men take care of them, and mental illness was often swept under the carpet. The husband, John, did not want the stigma of mental illness tied to his family (Coffey). He says that no one but myself can help me out of it, that I must use my will and self-control and not let any silly fancies run away with me (Gilman, The Yellow 110). In reading the story, the readers must remind themselves that society today treats mental illness differently and that the story was written from a nineteenth century perspective. The narrator continues to repress her own needs and allow her husband to dominate. Seeing the wallpaper in the bedroom, she writes: I never saw a worse paper in my life one of those sprawling, flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin (106).

It is also interesting to note that the bed in the room is a great immovable bed which is nailed down (109). This quite possibly is a metaphoric reference to her husbands attitude about her illness. As the narrator looks out a window, she can see a garden. She describes flowers, paths, and arbors. All that she sees outside is beautiful. Just as Gilman uses the room as a metaphor for her mental illness, she uses the beautiful garden as a metaphor for the mental health the woman craves.

The more time the narrator spends in the room, the more obsessed...


Free research essays on topics related to: temporary nervous depression, feels trapped, narrator of the story, gilman the yellow, mental illness

Research essay sample on Temporary Nervous Depression Gilman The Yellow

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