Charlotte Gilman’s said that “the real purpose of the story was to reach Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, and convince him of the error of his ways.” As shown in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, the method of medical treatment for women with depression during the 19th century, show why the narrator in the story fell to such a level of hysteria. Through the time period, the relationships, the experiences of Gilman, and the methods of treatment in the story, it shows why the treatment of women as patients correlated to the way they were treated in society during the 19th century. 

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a story that takes place during the 1890’s and is about a woman who has a mental health issue and is taken care of by her husband. Towards the beginning of the story, the woman becomes very interested in the yellow wallpaper in one of the rooms in her house. Throughout the story she is disturbed by it and claims that she sees a woman on the inside of the wallpaper trying to escape from it. Despite her emotional feelings toward the wallpaper, her husband refuses to take it down and does not listen to her needs. By the end of the story, the woman is practically insane and she rips through the yellow wallpaper. An interesting aspect about this story is that Gilman based it off of her personal experience suffering from mental health issues. 

During the 19th century, the medical industry’s method of mental health treatment showed discrimination and lack of judgement.  The method of isolation for mental patients did not allow the patient to express themselves but rather kept them secluded from everything. This often had the reverse effect and made the patient’s condition worse. In the article Managing Madness in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the author speaks on how “empowerment can play some constructive part in the long trail toward sane maturity” (Hume 11).  This idea of empowering the patient is completely different than what the narrator in the story experienced. Not allowing for expression or empowerment led to the insanity that ensued in the story. Part of this method of treatment was also related to the fact that there was a presence of gender inequality during the 1890’s. 

The relationships between John and the narrator in the story truly show the controlling nature of men over women during this time. John does not does not accept or listen to what the narrator tells him and it results in a state of hysteria and depression for the narrator. The narrator’s husband’s authority over her is prevalent throughout the story in the way she constantly makes her decisions based on things he has said to her. For example, “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 feel bad” (Gilman 300). This shows how little control she feels that she has over herself. The way the doctors and John have the narrator quarantined in the story, also contribute to the gender inequality during this time.  Based on this difference in gender roles, it is clear that John is one of the main factors that contribute to the downward spiral of depression towards the end of the story.

Much of Gilman’s personal experience with mental health problems contributes to her view of medical treatment during this time. Much of the purpose behind writing this story was to expose the medical judgement of doctors.  In “Doctoring The Yellow Wallpaper” by Jane Thrailkill, she brought up how Gilman said that “the real purpose of the story was to reach Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, and convince him of the error of his ways” (Thrailkill 528). In addition to exposing the medical treatment, Gilman uses the story to help other women who may have had a similar experience. She says also says that “it was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being crazy, and it worked” (Thrailkill 527). The narrator is a self-projection of Gilman and the fact that she has no name makes the narrator a representation for all women suffering from abuse.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman is not trying to drive readers crazy but rather make them aware of the dangers behind mental health treatment and gender inequality during that time. Even though this story took place many years ago, the message still matters today and we must learn from others before us to solve problems like this that we face. 
