
In the nineteenth century, and up to a fairly recent time, women where disregarded and pushed aside on everything from their opinions on the outside world to their thoughts on their own well-being. There are a number of personal experiences and documentations that have been recorded and can be easily accessed to verify this point.  More specifically, in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Gilman illustrates her own experience and struggle of mental illness rooting from postpartum depression. She attempts to advocate for herself and her own health only to be ignored by her husband because he “knows what’s best.” In comparison to this piece, G.J. Baker Benfield wrote “The Horrors of the Half-Known Life” which discusses the male attitude towards women and sexuality in the nineteenth century. The historical context that Benfield’s narrative provides allows you to better understand the struggle that Gilman went through, in a social standing, with her husband and other people who tried to help her. On the medical side, there was an extensive article written by Teri Pearlstein, MD, among others, discussing the symptoms of postpartum depression and how it can evolve into postpartum psychosis. The context of this article further proves Gilman’s illness, even though it was not a popular diagnosis at the time. Had they listened to Gilman’s concerns, the doctors would’ve possibly discovered how to better treat her in the ongoing illness. These texts go hand-in-hand in proving that if women were heard and taken more seriously, then there could’ve been a more progressive and efficient healthcare system.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a personal story of tragedy, loneliness, and disease. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, perceived as Jane in the tale, begins her deranged journey by being taken to a house by her physician husband for the summer in order to recover from her nervousness. John, her husband, doesn’t believe she is actually sick and decides to prescribe the “resting cure,” which in the time was a common treatment by the physician S. Weir Mitchell. The general idea of this cure was to simply bore the “ill” until they are “cured” and resume their everyday lives. 

The theory by Mitchell, was that any level of creative activity would have a negative effect on the patient and their recovery. In other words, he didn’t want the ill to be able to enjoy their time “resting”. The goal was to get them back on their feet as soon as possible. The narrator attempts to express her concerns to John, only to be disregarded and shut down. The single room she was confined to was especially a point of anguish. Jane sent hours obsessing and studying this horrid yellow wallpaper. At this point, her depression evolves into a full-blown psychosis as the speaker's mind becomes more chaotic and abstract. She begins to see the image of a women creeping behind the wallpaper which then later becomes a reflection of herself. The narrator believes the women is trying to escape but the pattern of the wallpaper is strangling her. Much like John is metaphorically strangling his wife. Jane’s psychosis reaches a full climax when she is left alone and attempts to “free the women”. She becomes so enraged she bites the bed, considers jumping out the window, and comes to a conclusion that she is the one who has “escaped” and her husband can’t put her back. 

In the novel “The Horrors of the Half-Known Life” G.J. Baker Benfield discusses the Male attitudes towards women and sexuality in the nineteenth century. More specifically in the excerpt I read, he discusses the roles of women in regards to work and sex. The bottom line is that women didn’t really have jobs and needed to kept in their “place.” This view was passed down generation to generation and instilled into the impressionable minds of children straight out of the womb. Women never had the need to take up any type of apprenticeship such as men. If they were employed it was with simple tasks that required heavy amounts of patients; which happened to be their main qualification for marriage. (19) Men wanted women who were submissive, who wouldn’t threaten the peace and quiet that was supposed to be in the home. Women were usually ignored and overshadowed by the bread-winners of the world. (18) America tried very hard to make sure the two paths of gender and work were kept divided at all costs. Men generally left women at home to tend to the cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing. Women remained subordinate to their husbands, unless it was in the occupation of teaching. By the end of the nineteenth century two-thirds of teachers, in public and private schools, were women. (19) It was theorized that the job made sense because women and children belonged together. The job also lacked the competition and unpredictability that men supposedly needed in their day to day excursions.

This book relates to the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman because there are examples of how women were viewed and treated in the nineteenth century, namely by men. Gilman shares her own story of “recovery” from mental illness and the circumstances she has to endure put forth by her husband. When women were going through periods of hysteria or anxiety a common prescription given to them was the rest cure. This was the prescription given to Gilman while she was experiencing her illness. In the story, Jane’s primary physician was her husband, John. In the nineteenth century being a white man and a physician gave you dual authority to control a situation such as this one. Throughout this piece John is convinced that his wife is getting better and the rest cure is working. The narrator tries to negate those thoughts only to be shut down because her husband knows what’s best. John also talks to his wife as if she is a complete buffoon with no understanding of the outside world. John states, “...you really are better, dear, whether you can see it or not.  I am a doctor, dear, and I know.  You are gaining flesh and color, your appetite is better.” (306) After this instance Jane generally stays quiet only to reveal her true conditions in written form. This causes her depression to progress into a full blown hysteria that would most likely need the help of an institution. In the twenty-first century John’s actions toward his wife seem cruel and grotesque, but back then that was just the normal relationship between a married couple. Not much stock was put into women’s opinions, even regarding their own bodies. Having done some outside research to expand my knowledge on the time period, I now have a better understanding of the situation. It also displays how far we have come in society regarding women’s rights and medical technology.

A medical journal, entitled “Obstetrics Postpartum Depression” was written by Teri Pearlstein, MD, among others, who reviews a series of selected studies about the diagnosis and treatment of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression or PPD is depression suffered by a mother following childbirth. This illness typically arises from a combination of hormonal changes, psychological adjustment to motherhood, and fatigue. “PPD affects up to 15% of mothers and unfortunately it is undiagnosed and undertreated. Postpartum blues have been reported with the first 15-85% of women within the first ten days after giving birth, with a peaking at the fifth day.” (Pearlstein) Some common symptoms include mood swings, mild euphoria, irritability, tearfulness, fatigue, and confusion. In more extreme and rare cases, postpartum depression can evolve into postpartum psychosis. “Postpartum psychosis occurs in 1 of 500 mothers, with rapid onset in the first 2-4 weeks after delivery of the child.” (Pearlstein) Symptoms of postpartum psychosis include confused thinking, mood swings, delusions, paranoia, disorganized behavior, poor judgement, and impaired functioning. If diagnosed properly there are multiple treatments that can be carried out to help the mothers recover. The patients can seek out therapy, such as support groups or psychotherapy, be prescribed medications, use relaxation techniques or see a specialist. This medical journal was very informative in giving hard evidence of what PPD and postpartum psychosis are and how they can be properly diagnosed and treated. The main hitch is that until very recently neither of these diagnoses were widely used nor accepted.

This article relates very closely to “The Yellow Wallpaper” due to the fact that Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and her alter ego Jane, had postpartum depression. Though neither of them were specifically diagnosed with this ailment, when re-reading the short story the evidence is overwhelming. Jane declares, “It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I can not be with him, it makes me so nervous.” (301) The narrator worries for her child but she can’t be with him. This could be further explained with the theory that she is a potential danger to the child. Incidence have occurred were the mother becomes overwhelmed and is too rough of her child, sometimes resulting in death.  Later Jane reveals, “I cry at nothing and cry most of the time.” (304) This is evidence that the narrator is experiencing mood swings, which is another common symptom of women with PPD. These mood swings occur due to the change in hormone levels and can being visible up to one-year after childbirth. Lastly, as the story progresses, there is evidence that the narrator is experiencing hallucinations of a women behind the wallpaper, “I see her on the long road under the trees, creeping along, and when a carriage comes she hides under the blackberry vines.” (309) This is when you start to see more of an indicator that the postpartum depression is evolving into a full-blown psychosis. The question then becomes, with all of these obvious signals, why was Gilman’s main character not properly diagnosed? Looking back at the history of medicine in the nineteenth century, the symptoms of postpartum depression were not recognized as a medical disorder until around this time. Much like now, when women experienced depression, many didn’t reveal their symptoms. Those who did were often diagnosed as neurotic, much like Gilman was. 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a woman that was misdiagnosed and mistreated, causing her to go through a mental merry-go-round of increasing terror. What started out as simple postpartum depression, which is easily treatable nowadays, developed into a raging psychosis of hallucinations and hysteria. “The Horrors of the Half-Known Life” by G.J. Baker Benfield, gives a great historical context of the nineteenth century and why relationships between men and women were the way that they were. It also demonstrates how far we have come in society to the equality of men and women in social and emotional ways. “Obstetrics Postpartum Depression” by Teri Pearlstein, MD, give a medical background of what happens to the body and mind with someone goes through this disorder. This journal is more concentrated on present methods of diagnoses and treatment but further illustrates how the medical community has evolved in both treatment and acceptance of postpartum depression. It also correlates very well with the symptoms that are presented by Gilman in her short story. Both of these supporting pieces that cover the past and present give a great level of knowledge to better understand what the narrator is experiencing in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Though something that the text brings to life is the personal experience that Gilman had with PPD. As a reader, I got an in depth look on the treatment of women in the 19th century, as well as the medical practice. I was able to watch Gilman, presented as Jane, go through a mental downwards spiral of derangement and pain. From an outside perspective this knowledge can be used to improve from the rest, boredom, and loneliness that was an all too abundant solution at the time. 
