

In the 1800’s two women took the writing world by storm by writing two pieces of biting social commentary which challenged the treatment of women during this time period. Charlotte Perkins Gillman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” about a woman who was battling Postpartum depression and who’s suffering was exacerbated because the men in her life ignored her. Nellie Bly wrote her haunting story “10 Days in a Madhouse” about going undercover in an insane asylum and discovering the abusive mistreatment of the patients. Both women were dismissed as crazy at the time for their writing but they were undeterred and committed to exposing unfairness and injustice. Both Bly and Gillman were tired of how men thought they were superior to women and thought they knew everything while women knew nothing. They were also tired of being treated improperly as second-class citizens. Another factor that made these writings popular was that both had first-hand experience. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator had just had a baby and moved away. She was suffering from Postpartum depression and her husband was not helping or listening to her. Charlotte Perkins Gillman wrote this story based on her own experience with the illness. In fact, Gillman even mentions the doctor that misdiagnosed her in the story (Dr. Weir Mitchell). Nellie Bly had first-hand experience in her story as well when she went undercover and allowed herself to be committed to an insane asylum. Her essay factually reports events from the Women’s Lunatic Asylum. Although, Bly and Gillman wrote about two different experiences, reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” can help the reader understand how women were mistreated in “10 days in a Madhouse”.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by Gillman as a protest to how men ignored women in society and patronizingly tried to make decisions for them. After giving birth to her baby, the narrator of the story became ill. Her husband, who was also her doctor, moved her to a new home and kept her locked away in a room. As more time passes the narrator writes in her journal that she is not getting any better and thinks the treatment is not working. She goes on to say that both her husband and brother are doctors of high standing and they both assure people that, “there is nothing really the matter with one but temporary nervous depression,” (Carolina Reader 300). The reader can now begin to realize that the esteemed doctors, husband and brother, are not listening to the patient and are ignoring her requests. The reason the men do this is because they are sure they know what is best for her. When this story was written in 1892, this is a very common way men acted towards women. The reason Gillman wrote the story in this manner is because that is how she and countless other women were treated. Her doctors, husband, and other members of society ignored her and did not listen to her requests just like the what happened to the narrator. Paula A. Treichler wrote an article analyzing “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and in her article, she mentions that John her husband) believes the narrator is suffering from hysteria. When the story was written hysteria was also commonly and dismissively known as a “women’s disease”. This approach has been thoroughly debunked in today’s medical field. When Gillman was told she was suffering from hysteria she tried to tell Dr. Wier Mitchell that it was something else. However, when she spoke out her doctor only ignored her which ended up making her worse increasing her frustration and isolation and likely compounding her depression. Just like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”.  The reader can now assume that not only in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, but also in the 1800’s, men ignored women and thought they knew what was right for a woman. 

In the story “10 Days in a Madhouse” Bly also uncovers the treatment of women and how the people in charge of the insane asylum ignored them. Nellie Bly went undercover to expose the horrible truth about insane asylums in the 1800’s. When she herself was admitted she had no idea  what she was getting herself into. When undercover, Miss Bly changed her name to Nellie Brown so she will not be recognized. As she joined the other patients she quickly realized women in the asylum were not being helped but rather abused. The men and women entrusted with the care of patients were ignoring their requests for food, clothing, or even their own personal belongings. At one point in the story, Bly asks for one of her personal items (her notebook) he brought with her because it helps her remember things and the nurse responds by coldly saying, “You can’t have it, so shut up,” (Carolina Reader 291).  This comment helps the reader realize these people in positions of authority did not care in the least for the patients and did not have their best interests at heart. As the story unfolds the patients are ignored even more and it becomes more obvious to the reader that the women in this place were being treated horrifically. Another important factor of this story was that before Bly was committed to Blackwell she was seen by three different doctors. All three pronounced her insane even though she was obviously perfectly healthy. This is further evidence that men during the 1800’s believed they were always right and ignored things they didn’t understand, including the equality of the sexes. Now, it is true that Bly was faking the symptoms but the doctors committed a sane woman to an insane asylum. In the article “Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly”, Bly says that “Yes a woman could manufacture the hysterical symptoms without becoming hysterical herself”. This proves that her symptoms were all manufactured yet she was punished by being sent to an insane asylum. Now the reader can clearly see that in “10 Days in a Madhouse” the women were ignored. 

One of the main reasons Gillman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” was to expose how women were treated in the 1800’s and to raise awareness for women. In the story John locks his wife in her room. He cruelly and condescendingly tells her she is not allowed to write, think, or talk. This also happened to Gillman when she was diagnosed with “Women’s Disease”. This treatment of women is beyond absurd, it is outrageous. By telling women they are not allowed to do anything but stare at a wall it would surely drive them insane. And that is exactly what happened to the narrator in the story. When she would tell her husband, the treatment was not working he ignored her and she got progressively worse and ended up going insane. This is another example that can help the reader see how the women in the 1800’s were mistreated. When Gillman went to see her doctor and told him this treatment was not working he laughed. As Gillman continued doing nothing she ended up insane. She would crawl under her bed or hide in her closet clutching her teddy bear. This did not just happen to Gillman this happened to women all over the country and Gillman had had enough. She wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” so people like Dr. Mitchel would change their practice and see the harm it caused women. When analyzing the story Treichler raises the point that, “by taking away writing and thinking from women it is oppressing women.” The reader can now understand that this treatment of women in the 1800’s was oppressing them. They were not allowed to think or speak. It is very clear that Gillman wanted to raise awareness and help women across the country get treated properly. 

As Bly went undercover she discovered how the women in the insane asylum were being mistreated. The women in Blackwell were ignored, beaten, and chocked. Bly dedicates a whole chapter to the mistreatment of the women. An example Bly gives is when “Ms. Mayard is suffering from a cold and was locked up and kept frozen,” (Carolina Reader 295). This is shocking, usually when a person is getting sick or is cold they are not locked in a freezing cold room with little clothing. Bly goes on to mention that the nurses refused to give the patients more clothes or to accommodate them. Treating anyone this way is inhumane even if they are insane. Bly also writes about “witnessing a woman being chocked and how she could see the marks of the fingers on her throat,” (Carolina Reader 297). No person should ever be treated that way no matter who they are or what they have done. This is just another point proving that the women in the asylum were treated poorly. Ina review of Nellie Bly’s work Emily Toth quotes Blyth when she says, “The conditions were horrific, and it was a never-ending tale of sadistic nurses, oblivious doctors, and women diagnosed as insane for not speaking English,”. These examples point to the conclusion that these women were abused. Bly wrote this to expose these horrors but had to suffer through them herself. Even though it is obvious that the nurses and doctors did not have respect for the women it is still shocking that women were diagnosed insane just because they could not speak proper English. This once again proves Bly’s point. A reader can clearly see that these women were not treated properly in the 1800’s not only in Blackwell but also in society.

Both works are about different scenarios but reading them together helps prove the point that both authors are trying to make. In both pieces Bly and Gillman are trying to prove the point that women were not treated properly in the 1800’s. Reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” before “10 Days in a Madhouse” can help the reader see the point clearly. Gillman makes it obvious that her narrator is not being listened to when she talks about “John not listening to me” or “John says he knows what is best for me”. These are examples of John ignoring the narrator when she knew what was best for her. Gillman wrote this way because this is what happened when she went to her doctor and he ignored her. These examples help bring out Bly’s example because she wrote about the women in the asylum being mistreated. She talked about “women asking for clothes of food and being told to shut up” of “asking for their personal belongings”. After reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” it becomes obvious that the women in the 1800’s were not treated with respect. Another reason why “The Yellow Wallpaper” helps prove the point is because the main characters are a married man and woman and the story follows the marriage and how John causes his wife to go insane. The point of women being mistreated by men is clear and obvious while in “10 Days in a Madhouse” it is not as clear because it is dealing with an insane asylum and does not deal directly with a man and woman. After reading both stories the reader will see the point that both Bly and Gillman are proving. 

In conclusion, while both Gillman and Bly are writing to prove that women were mistreated in the 1800’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper” helps the reader see this in “10 Days in a Madhouse”. With the experience that Gillman and Bly both went through to write these pieces it is obvious that they were protesting the treatment of women. The articles raised so much awareness that after “10 Days in a Madhouse” was written asylums all over were changing the treatment of the patients. After “The Yellow Wallpaper” doctors and men started to realize the damage they were causing to women not only with postpartum depression but in society in general. Both women wrote break through articles for their time and made society change the way they act.  
