There is much debate about who is to blame for the eventual downfall of the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Some say it is John, her husband, because he refused to listen to her opinions about what was wrong and what should be done. Author Barbara Seuss wrote that it could be Jane, the narrator, who is to blame because she was submissive throughout the story and did not resist the control of her husband (Seuss 87). However, society is most likely to blame for Jane’s insanity because it enforced the ideals of a husband having control over his wife.

In the beginning of the story, Jane says, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency—what is one to do?” (Gilman 2). In the time that this was written, men had final say on what happened with their wives. Although Jane knew that something was wrong and wanted to try different ways of treating it, John would not hear of it, and he believed that if he could just lock her up and pretend her mental illness was nonexistent, it would eventually go away.

Jane had thoughts of anger and resistance against her husband, as evidenced when she says, “I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I’m sure I never used to be so sensitive. I think it is due to this nervous condition. But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self-control; so I take pains to control myself—before him, at least” (Gilman 2). However, even though she had the desire to rebel, she never did and instead dreamed of what she could do. She wrote when John was not around, but always hid what she did when he came in so as not to disturb the peace. Her submission allowed him to continue what he did, and so she felt she needed another way to free herself. This led to Jane mentally becoming the “woman in the wall” and eventually freeing herself in her mind by peeling off all of the wallpaper.

If the tables had been turned and John was the one feeling ill, he would have had complete say over what happened to him, and Jane would have catered to his every need without arguing with his opinions on the subject. He might have tried the treatment he gave Jane by staying in bed, but he probably would have come to the same realization that she did, which was that being confined to her room and forced to do nothing did not make her feel better, but in fact worsened her condition. The difference, though, is that after this realization John would have simply left the room and Jane would have gone along with whatever he said. Jane, on the other hand, could not convince him that his treatment was not working, because she was not supposed to defy or doubt him in any way. This double standard is what led to Jane’s mental breakdown.

The most blame of the story can be placed on society as a whole in the Victorian era. Male dominance was expected and encouraged, and females were supposed to be weak and fragile and submissive to their husbands and fathers. This is what encouraged John to behave the way he did, assuming he knew best, ignoring Jane’s ideas, and dismissing her mental illness as slight hysteria. Although John is probably the first one that comes to readers’ minds when considering who is at fault in the story, if one looks farther back, it is important to see how John came to behave the way he does. All men were trained to act that way in those years. They were punished by their peers and by adults when they acted weak or indecisive, and rewarded every time they acted strong and dominant. The weakest males were picked on in school, and the most confident were looked up to. This behavioral reinforcement created the men that John represents. 

Society also enforced the idea that because John was a doctor, he must know best. However, very little was known about mental illness at the time, and therefore John basically made it up as he went, locking his wife away and hoping that her depression would eventually vanish. He felt that he was supposed to know what to do in the situation, so even though he did not have facts or evidence to back up his treatment of locking his wife away and not allowing her to do anything, he was expected to stay confident in what he did and show authority in his actions. So that is what he did.

Also, it was considered to be very shameful at that time to have a mental illness of any kind, so Jane and John felt that they needed to hide her depression. John and everyone else involved felt very uncomfortable with the whole thing, which led to his less than effective treatment. Because it was not tangible, Jane’s illness was assumed to be all in her head.

All of these things, Jane, John, and society as a whole played roles in Jane’s eventual insanity, but society is the original factor that caused her and her husband to act the way that they did. Societal norms caused John to be raised the way he was, to be dominant over women, and to feel that he was supposed to know the answers to everything. It is also partly why Jane was submissive, because that was what was expected of women. Although keeping her anger to herself kept the peace temporarily, it is eventually what led to her mental breakdown. These gender roles were the norm in Victorian society, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” uncovered the flaws of the system, and challenged this idea of normalcy that was so encouraged in the Victorian era in which it was written.                                                             
