Throughout the 1800’s, many aspects of American life were up for discussion after the American Civil War. The time after the Civil War was one of the largest times of change that our constantly evolving nation has ever encountered. When an individual thinks about the time after the Civil War, they will most likely think solely about the changes to the way that whites and blacks interacted. Although a large portion of the changes within this time period revolved around relationships between African Americans and Caucasians, some emphasis was put towards changing the way that men viewed marriage and the female sex altogether. One of the most influential feminists of the 1800’s was Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author of The Yellow Wallpaper. The Yellow Wallpaper is a text that included elements that helped the authors audience to better understand the injustices that women were subjected to by the male population in the 1800’s. Her writing of these and other stories were key to enacting change in what was a broken system.  Through these changes, Charlotte Perkins Gilman writings help the audience to better understand the injustices that women encountered under male dominance in this time period.

The late 1800’s, the time when The Yellow Wallpaper was written, was a time where women were seen as lesser individuals than men. Men in this time period did not believe that women had the mental capability to function in a society that was predominately controlled by men. As such, males, including doctors, believed that women should be confined to the home and given simple duties such as, cooking, cleaning and raising the children. Doctors believed that a leading cause of “nervous breakdowns”, as they described it, was women over-exerting themselves in areas outside of their small duties around the home (Women and Psychiatry). The main character in this text is a woman who is suffering from some type of depression that her husband, who is her doctor, refuses to address. In many cases, women who suffered mental illness were given false diagnosis’ because their doctors refused to believe that women would were more susceptible to nervous breakdowns instead of actual mental illnesses (“Women and Psychiatry”). Women in this time period felt trapped by their lack of diagnosis and constantly wondering what was truly wrong with them. This type of entrapment of the mind is found in the text when the narrator 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 300)? This quote reiterates the fact that men in the 1800’s were always considered correct, no matter the circumstance. 

Mental illness for women in the 19th century was a topic that was continuously talked about; this was a time period in which women’s asylums were beginning to be used. In many cases, women who did not have mental illnesses were put in these asylums and treated horrendously because they refused to oblige by the unwritten rules of Victorian life. The woman’s husband or father were generally the people to arrange that their wives or daughters go to the asylums (Women and Psychiatry). This action is a perfect example of the control that men had over women in the 1800’s. Although The Yellow Wallpaper was not about a women confined to an asylum, she might as well have been because of her family’s refusal to acknowledge her mental issues. The author of the text said, “You see he does not believe that I am sick! What can I do (Gilman 299)?” This quote perfectly shows the lack of understanding that many doctors had about their patients and their unwillingness to listen to hear what the real issues were. The male doctors in Mrs. Gilman’s time did not believe that they had to listen to women who they believed to be inferior to them to make their diagnosis. Psychiatrists, including Charlotte Gilman’s, would often prescribe sleep to their patients suffering from “nervous breakdowns” because they believed that they were over-exerted. As result, women were left with diseases that were uncured with no hope in sight. This lack of understanding was the reason that many women found themselves in positions of constant hopelessness.

The idea of marriage in the 1800’s was much different than how it is viewed today. Although love was a part of marriage, many other factors were a part of a couple’s decision to get married. Marriage in this era was a combination of both love and financial stability. Men viewed marriage as a way to obtain a companion with the ability to make their home a warm and comforting place. Since sex before marriage was frowned upon at this point, marriage was a way for a man to obtain a sexual partner without the repercussions of societal shaming (History of Marriage). Although a man viewed a woman as a companion, women were still subjected to different types of disrespect from their spouse. In The Yellow Wallpaper, there were multiple examples where the main character’s husband, John, would humiliate his wife. An example of this humiliation was found on page 299 where the narrator says, “John laughs at me of course, but one expects that in marriage’ (Gilman 299). This type of unnecessary shaming was seen all too often in marriages in this time period.  

A large portion of marriage in this time period was centered around control and feminine obedience as previously stated in this essay. Throughout this text, John’s control over the narrator is evident in many different scenarios in the text. An example of this control and uninterrupted obedience is found on page 306 in the text when John says, “Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so (Gilman 306)?” This quote is an example of the obedience that was expected of women when there doctor or husband told them what was wrong or what they had to do.

Gilman’s purpose for writing this text was to raise awareness for the injustices that women were subjected to everyday. The Yellow Wallpaper was a text that recounted many of the injustices that she was subjected to, while she battled mental illness in the late 1800’s. Her doctor, Weir Mitchell, told her that she would be healed with rest. Psychiatrists of this time period often used this method of treatment to “cure” women who complained of having mental issues. The narrator in the text was used to represent the type of battle that the author endured in her fight against her illness. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator says, “Indeed he started the habit by making me lie down for an hour after each meal” (Gilman 307). This quote describes the resting method that many psychiatrists used to treat their woman patients. While the psychiatrists were attempting to help the patients, confining a person with a mental illness to small quarters and forcing them to rest is not the appropriate way to defeat mental illnesses. If doctors of this time period would have taken the appropriate steps to diagnosis these issues, the development of mental illness treatments for women would have developed at a much quicker rate and benefitted many suffering individuals.

In conclusion, the work that Charlotte Perkins Gilman did to show the public what was truly happening to women with mental illnesses is remarkable. Charlotte Gilman was one of the first women in history to fight for liberties that were only given to men. Her ability to give specific examples of what women encountered every day in society were crucial in creating a conversation around change for something other than African American and caucasians after the Civil War. Her piece was able to shed light on mental illness in women in a time period where they were not afforded the respect and treatment that everyone human being regardless of sex or color deserves. Two hundred years later, women are still subjected to a less evident and extreme form of injustice in many workplaces.  The conversation that Mrs. Gilman started in the 1800’s is not over and requires constant dialogue until women are treated equally with men in all situations. 
