“Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over” (Gilman 9).  As shown in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins 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. The treatment of women as patients correlated to the way they were treated in society during the 19th century. This connection is apparent in the story through the time period, the relationships, and the personal experiences of Gilman. 

Set during the 1890’s, the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” centers on a woman who has a mental health issue called neurasthenia and is taken care of by her husband. She explains that she has “nervous depression” (Gilman 300) and that being active will help her condition. However, her husband John prohibits her from doing anything that allows her to keep her mind active such as working and writing. In John’s eyes, he feels that her illness is not serious and the best treatment is to keep her isolated.   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 obsessed yet disturbed by it and claims that she sees a woman on the inside of the wallpaper trying to escape from it. This is where the wallpaper serves a symbolic representation of a jail or quarantined place. In the story, the narrator describes a pattern on the wallpaper that resembles a jail cell. She describes the person she sees inside as someone who “takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard” (Gilman 309).  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.  This makes it seem to her as if she is the woman in the wallpaper trying to escape. Gilman’s personal experience with mental illness truly gives the audience a detailed and emotional story. 

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 was displayed in the story when the narrator was confined in one place and not allowed by her husband to write or work. 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 relationship between John and the narrator in the story truly display the controlling nature of men over women during this time. John does not accept or listen to what the narrator tells him which 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 John, being her doctor, has the narrator quarantined in the story, also contributes to the gender inequality during this time.  In “Managing Madness,” it is mentioned that Charlotte Gilman wanted to “expose a serious and extreme lapse in medical judgement, or wisdom, regarding the treatment of neurasthenia” (Hume 1).  This lack of good judgement is directly related to the disrespectfulness towards women’s opinions on treatment. 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. 

Many of Gilman’s personal experiences with mental health problems accounts for 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.  For example, at the end of the story the narrator rips through the wallpaper and she says: “I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did” (Gilman 311)? At this point, it becomes apparent to the narrator that other women have been in the same position she has. This question the narrator asks provides the opportunity to analyze if other people have gone through the same struggles and positions that she has had to face. 

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. The ending of this story truly begs the question of whether or not it means the narrator’s defeat or defiance.  In one way, the ending could be seen as a tale of defeat for the narrator because of the way she truly spiraled out of control due to the treatment she was under. In the article “Doctoring The Yellow Wallpaper,” it says that Gilman wanted the story to be “dreadful” and to startle the audience and get their attention (Thrailkill 545). This shows that though the story may end in a sad defeat, it brings attention to the seriousness of the issue. Furthermore, the ending can be a story of defiance in the way the narrator broke through and saw that others are in her same position. This gives other people in the same situation assurance that they are not alone. Both interpretations of the ending can serve as positives in their respective ways.  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. 
