
The late 19th century was a challenging time, especially for women. Their rights were minimal and anything they did outside of their “realm” was a legitimate reason for being labeled insane. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” these ideals of powerless women are explored. Additionally, her mental illness is brought to life, but ignored by her husband, John. Through his rejection of her mental illness and his course of thinking that he knows what’s best for his wife, John Gilman helps to exemplify the 19th century power struggle and sexist society. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist’s gender is the reason behind much of the mistreatment she gets from her undiagnosed mental illness. The lack of power women had over their lives in the late 19th century is exemplified through Gilman’s little control over her daily life.

In this story, written in the late 19th century, we are introduced to Charlotte, a women clearly struggling with mental illness. We are also introduced to her overbearing, controlling husband, John, who claims Charlotte is simply “sick.” Through Charlotte’s storytelling, we are exposed to the power struggle between the two spouses, which was common in marriages at the time. John tries many tactics to “cure” Charlotte, such as confining her to one room in hopes of it healing her. Additionally, he takes control of her daily schedule, diet and routine, leaving her with no control of her own life, whatsoever. The overbearingness of John gives us insight into the dynamic between men and women during the 19th century and also the mistreatment of women during that time.

Throughout the 1800s, women were confined within spheres of domesticity. Their ideal roles included cooking, cleaning, birthing and mothering children, and most importantly, being attentive to their husbands. If they were to step outside of these spheres, they were often deemed insane and even placed into mental institutions. The basis of their diagnoses were often untrue, or unrealistic and the so-called “cures” for these illnesses were illogical. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s mental illness is explored, but ignored by her husband. He has an underlying knowledge that something is wrong with his wife, but chooses to simply diagnose her as “sick,” all while controlling every aspect of her life in an attempt to cure her. His disapproval of her want to read and write leads to her confinement within her bedroom, which eventually results in making her mental illness even more severe. 

John Gilman confines his wife Charlotte to the upstairs room of their house because he claims it is what is best for her health. Charlotte opposes his demand to stay in the room with yellow wallpaper, but due to her lack of power, John succeeds and Charlotte obeys. She states, “I don’t like our room one bit. I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! But John would not hear of it” (Gilman 300). Despite Charlotte’s want for a room downstairs, John takes control of the situation and assigns her to the room he sees fit. In the late 19th century, architecture was often seen as a cure to mental illness. There was much emphasis placed on the structure and architectural look of insane asylums in order to “cure” the patients living inside. Carla Yanni writes, “While such large psychiatric hospitals have little to no medical credibility, the edifices (or their ruins) remain, witnesses to the history of medicine and testaments to a once-common faith in a partly architectural cure for insanity” (Yanni 46). As we read on in Gilman’s piece, we see that the architecture of the room is actually harming her mental state more than it is helping. She starts to see a woman within the wallpaper in her room, and refuses to tell John about it, so he assumes his “cure” for her sickness is working. Gilman writes, “I had no intention of telling him it was because of the wallpaper- he would make fun of me. He might even want to take me away” (Gilman 308). She knows her husband’s course of action against her mental illness is not working, so she hides it from him in an attempt to get what she wants. John’s attempt to use the architecture of a room in their house to cure Charlotte’s illness backfires, without him knowing. The unaccredited thought that architecture is a cure to mental illness is disproven in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

Charlotte and John Gilman’s relationship dynamic is exemplary of a 19th century marriage. The women were confined within their realms of domesticity, which included cooking, cleaning, and bearing children. When Charlotte started to behave in ways that John did not agree with, he diagnosed her as sick, and ignored the fact that something else might be going on with her mentally. During this time, women were often placed in mental institutions for doing things that men did not agree with, and although Charlotte is not placed in an institution, John’s treatment of Charlotte is similar to what she would receive in one. In an article discussing women’s admissions into asylums in the 19th century, Katherine Pouba and Ashley Tianen write, “Women during this time period had minimal rights, even concerning their own mental health. Research concluded that many women were admitted for reasons that could be questionable” (Pouda, Tianen 95). John takes complete control over Charlotte’s life because he can tell she is not mentally stable. He takes control despite the face that he refuses to diagnose her with a more severe claim than that she is simply “sick.” Charlotte states, “So I take phosphates and phosphites- whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until I am well again” (Gilman 300). John implements all of these rules onto Charlotte against her will. Through John’s attempt to treat his “sick” wife, we are able to see the roles of women and their lack of power in the 19th century.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s mental illness goes undiagnosed, which ultimately leads to it getting worse. From the beginning of the story, we know that there is an underlying knowledge among the characters that Charlotte is mentally unstable, but no one explicitly states it. Her husband claims that she is sick and ignores the fact that there might be something more going on than simply a sickness. In Katherine Pouba and Ashley Tianen’s research, questions of the eligibility of diagnoses were brought up. The co-authors write, “Did these women truly need to be admitted to asylums, or was their admittance an example of their lack of power to control their own lives?” (Pouba, Tianan 95). We can question Charlotte’s lack of diagnosis, but we can also question her need for diagnosis. At the beginning of the story it does not seem like she has a mental illness, it simply seems like she has lack of control over her life. This can bring us to question that if she were given more control, would she even go through the experiences of seeing a women in the wallpaper? Women were diagnosed as insane for doing things that men did not agree with, but Charlotte seemed to do everything her husband wanted her to. The expectation that she should be seen as someone with a mental illness comes from the roles of women within the 19th century. Charlotte stepped outside of her sphere by wanting to read and write, and John considers this a basis for calling her sick. Overall, the expectation and need for a diagnosis of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s mental state proves that women were often stripped of their sanity by the diagnosis of mental illnesses. 

The elements in “The Yellow Wallpaper” exemplify the ways of society in the 19th century. Women were confined within spheres of domesticity and if they stepped outside of those boundaries, they were punished and often deemed as crazy, or insane. Charlotte, the protagonist of the story, is completely controlled by her husband. He chooses her diet, daily schedule, and living quarters. Because of her lack of power and control, she follows his rules and lives her life in a confined room that eventually perpetuates her mental illness. The architecture, specifically the wallpaper, of her room causes her mentally stability to decrease. The spousal relationship between John and Charlotte gives insight into the roles women were expected to have and how their husbands enforced them. Overall, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s gender was the root of her mistreatment. Because she was a woman in a time where women had little power, she was deemed “sick” and had to follow whatever her husband told her to do. Today, we still see the harsh expectations of women in society. Although we have more control over our daily lives and less of a need to obey men’s needs, we are still working towards an equal society. 
