In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Paper” the narrator, known as Jane, suffers from depression following the birth of her child. She remains isolated from everyone except her husband and her personal nurse. Her husband believes she is suffering from hysteria and advises her to stay in bed and rest. Jane is trapped inside a third floor room which was previously used as a nursery. This is symbolic because now the room is being used as a prison where she is restricted from all forms of activity such as reading and writing. When her husband, John, is away on business she is left with no form of emotional support for days at a time. Even when he is home he does not talk to her about her condition. John’s selfishness does not let him see his wife’s state and that she is indeed getting worse.  By looking at the symptoms of postpartum depression, we can understand why the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” seems to lack a bond with her child. She avoids her child because she thinks she will greater harm her by exposing her to her disorder.  By bringing this child into the world, she feels as if she has already done the damage of harming her daughter. Gilman explains this mistreatment of women by relating the narrator’s experiences to her own personal experiences. By looking at the “rest cure” in comparison to “The Yellow Wallpaper”, one can really see the ways women were harshly treated during this time period.

It is evident that the narrator, Jane, is suffering from a form of depression. During this time period, postpartum depression was a very common condition diagnosed amongst adults. This is a type of depression which occurs after childbirth and is most popular in people between the ages of 19-24. The symptoms may include insomnia, loss of appetite, intense irritability, and difficulty form a strong relationship with the baby. While there are many forms of treatment for this disorder now, in the 1800’s there was no known forms of treatment. There were no studies or experiments done to find possible solutions for this type of depression. People were very uneducated and they were unsure of how to cope with depression. In the late nineteenth century, the idea of mental illness was uncommon and no clearly understood. There were no women doctors at this time so the condition was falsely diagnosed so they did not get the treatment that they needed. 

Gilman uses her own personal experiences by bringing them to the story which relates to what was happening during this time period. She educates her readers about the mental illness in women by telling them about her personal experiences. In the story, the treatment of the main character is similar to her own experiences. Charlotte was suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her child, but it was not diagnosed at this time. Gilman’s past sort of came to life in a way through “The Yellow Wallpaper”. It is evident where she had gotten the inspiration to incorporate such a topic into her piece of literature. Gilman’s personal encounters and experiences are clearly related to the narrator’s challenges with depression. By looking at the “rest cure” in comparison to “The Yellow Wallpaper” one can see the degradation of women. Doctor Silas Weir Mitchell was a well-respected neurologist who studied Gilman’s behaviors and treated her condition. Doctor Mitchell believed his “rest cure” was the treatment for Gilman when she was suffering from depression. He believed she should practice to cure hysteria and other nervous conditions in women. This meant staying in bed all day long while eating fatty and unhealthy foods. He believed this would cure the symptoms being shown and allow the patient to recover slowly. It also forbids the interaction with other people and any form of physical activity. He also told her not to practice reading or writing, but Jane was later caught by her husband for keeping a secret diary. This left the patient with no responsibilities and caused them to be dependent on an aid or nurse and deprived them of human life qualities. This only made Jane’s condition worse and caused more psychological problems. “You see, he does not believe I am sick!” (Gilman). He prescribed this for her mental illness, even though it would not potentially cure her. It is evident through this quote from the text that the “rest cure” did not even begin to cure her depression.

By looking at the symptoms of postpartum depression, we can understand why the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” seems to have an aversion to her child. She avoids or ignores her child because she never formed a real bond or relationship with her child. By bringing child into the world, Gilman feels as though she has already done the harm. She believes she has already set her daughter up for failure and that she had passed this disease onto her.

Gilman’s text embodies the symptoms of postpartum depression by portraying them thorough the protagonist’s actions and behaviors. For example, this type of depression usually forms after childbirth. This usually mean the mother and child do not develop a relationship that is strong or full of love. Cheryl Beck discusses the symptoms and common emotions experienced by those suffering from postpartum depression. This depression prevents the mother from gibing her child her full love and the mother does not enjoy the company of her child (Beck). The mother does not get that feeling they expected to after reading about having a child in magazines or on TV. Some even fear that their conditions or symptoms will harm their baby so they try not to become too attached (Beck). Therefore, they keep this distance from the baby. This is evident in Jane’s character because her husband, John, has ordered her to complete rest and forbids her from seeing her baby. 

Another symptom of postpartum depression is having allusions and hallucinations. This is evident in “The Yellow Wallpaper” through Jane claiming she seems a woman in the wallpaper of her room. The yellow wallpaper serves as symbolism because Jane thinks whatever is inside the wallpaper has an effect on her directly. After staring at the pattern for hours, she begins to see a pattern behind the main pattern. Eventually, this becomes an image of a woman trying to escape from behind the wallpaper. It appears as if she is inside the bars of a cage and can’t find a way out. Jane becomes destressed and obsessed with getting this woman out from the wall. This wallpaper is symbolic of her own life. It represents her family, life, and condition in which the narrator has buried herself in. Gilman uses this symbol to represent this issue by which so women are affected by. The woman behind the wallpaper represents her struggle to grasp her sanity and humanity. When she begins to tear down the wallpaper, she believes she is now freeing herself from confinement and of her sadness. “Then I peeled off all the paper I could reach standing on the floor. It sticks horribly and the pattern just enjoys it! All those stranded heads and bulbous eyes and waddling fungus growths just strike with derision” (Gilman 311). By looking at these textual examples, it is prevalent the depression had begun to take over all aspects of her life as she becomes obsessed with setting the woman free from behind the wallpaper. 

It is evident that during this time period society was biased and women were not given the same rights and freedoms as men were given. Gilman depicts this through the character of Jane and her social struggles. In her article on “The Yellow Wallpaper, Sloane Perron describes Gilman’s purpose in writing about the phenomenon of postpartum depression and the effects it had on women. This story was also written to emphasize and highlight the oppressive and sexist nature of the rest cure (Perron). This cure gives men complete authority and power over women. Female women patients are seen as being fragile, emotional and incapable of making their own decision (Perron). “The Yellow Wallpaper” is now regarded as one of the most feminist works of literature in history. People were not educated, so when this story was written they did not appreciate the issue it challenges. Gilman began to show improvements after she began to refuse to take part in the rest cure. Gilman made it her intention to challenge this doctor’s treatment as well as the treatment of women during this time period. 

Overall, “The Yellow Wallpaper” well depicts the historical era in which this story was written. It highlights the beliefs and culture of society during the 1800’s and showed the treatment of women and the role they played in the household. It allows the reader to have a better understanding for what types of social issues where occurring at this time and what truly sparked Charlotte Gilman to write this story. The issues of her personal life and the time period were very evident and relevant in “The Yellow Paper” through the characters and their behaviors. It is evident she wrote this to protest this type of treatment of women like herself. It is important for readers to appreciate this work of literature and pay attention to the message Gilman is trying to express to her readers. Overall, the events during this historical era are portrayed through Gilman’s story and it is proven these issues sparked her intentions and purpose for writing “The Yellow Wallpaper”. By looking at the symptoms of postpartum depression and the “rest cure” in comparison the mistreatment of women during this time period, one can analyze Gilman’s purpose for writing “The Yellow Wallpaper”.
