As one looks back and recounts the evolution of human rights in the United States since the American Civil War, one will notice a drastic difference in the way that females are treated. As changes between the interaction between African Americans and Caucasians were implemented, so to were changes made to the way that women were seen within American society as well. Two texts written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Nellie Bly during the 1800’s are a large part of why these changes were implemented and why females are looked at in a more equal way by males today. These two women from different areas of the United States saw a problem with the way that they were being treated and wanted to influence change through the writing of their experiences. While “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Ten Days in a Madhouse” have a vast amount of similarities and cover many of the same topics, these two texts have an array of differences that help the audiences of both have a better understanding of the numerous battles that women endured in a time period predominately controlled by males in the late 1800’s.

Although Nellie Bly and Charlotte Perkins Gilman were two of the most influential women in the women’s movement toward equal rights, they were not the first to address women’s mental illness or women’s rights altogether. The first woman to address these issues was Dorothea Dix, a teacher that taught at the Cambridge Jail in Massachusetts. Before Dorothea Dix started this movement towards justice for women, there was no regulations on how jails were required to treat their “mentally ill” inmates. When she would come to the jail to teach, she would see the results of constant abuse whether it be through starvation or physical beatings of her students. Her unveiling of these horrendous conditions helped to open the door for new ideas of safer places for these “ill” people. At this point, insane asylums were created. The creation of these asylums did not help not help much because of the poor treatment that the “patients” endured there as well (Dorothea Lynde Dix). Dorothea Dix’s uncovering of these conditions opened up a pathway for Nellie Bly to investigate these new asylums. To write “Ten Days in a Madhouse”, Bly feigned insanity and was subjected to unimaginable treatment at the Women Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell Island. This bravery and willingness to endure harsh treatment was just a single example of what Nellie Bly did to enact change. Only after the unveiling of this mistreatment in the New York World were changes made to the policies regarding the mistreatment of inmates in asylums.

When “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was first published, many people in the media believed that this was yet another attempt for a woman to make a name for herself in writing, like Nellie Bly did with her recount of her treatment in a mental asylum in “Ten Days in a Madhouse.” This was not the case, both of these writers wanted to do more than just make a name for themselves, but enact change in a society that they believed disrespected and misunderstood women. Many male doctors believed that women with mental illness contracted these issues due to over-exertion out of their normal duties, like the raising of children, cleaning and cooking. They believed that these “nervous breakdowns” could be cured through confinement to the home and continual rest that is displayed in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”  When women would seek help for these issues, their husbands and doctors disregarded anything that they said and chalk it up to being overly nervous. Without any real answers, these women’s condition would continue to deteriorate to the point where they were no longer able to be a normal part of society (“Women and Psychiatry”). An example of this entrapment and lack of control is found in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” “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 is an example of a male dominant relationship in which Gilman’s husband and doctor misdiagnosed his wife as “insane,” while in fact she was completely sane and had no mental handicap. This assortment of information and explanation of scenarios were the key forces behind both of these distinguished authors decision to fight against the social norm of this time period.   

The relationship between “Ten Days in a Madhouse” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a unique compilation of injustices that two women endured in very different situations. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman was written from the perspective of a sane woman who was confined to her own bedroom by her husband because of his belief that she was insane. The main character in the story is on a very specific schedule and has no freedom. This lack of freedom is found in two separate quotes on page three hundred in the Carolina Reader where she says, “I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the windows, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings. But John would not hear it,” (Gilman 300) describing her chosen room if she was allowed to pick where she would be confined. The other quote says, “He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction,” (Gilman 300) while describing the control that her husband has over her every movement. Unlike Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Nellie Bly went deeper to uncover the travesty that was the mental health system of this time period. The perspective of “Ten Days in a Madhouse” comes from another sane woman that was admitted to an insane asylum and subjected to the same mistreatment that mentally ill women were subjected to in this time period. In her account, she describes constant neglect to inmates, uneatable food that resulted in the starvation of some, and physical abuse. This is specifically seen on the last page of the text as Nellie Bly sits in the waiting room and sees an old, mentally-ill woman being dragged on the floor and screaming, “For God sake, ladies, don’t let them beat me,” (Bly 297). 

These two writings, although unrelated to each other, coincide with one another perfectly because of the way that they address two different issues within the women’s rights movement. When Bly wrote “Ten Days in a Madhouse,” she sought to seek change regarding the treatment of inmates within insane asylums. Separately, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” to focus on the control of males, specifically husbands in the time period. Each author had a different view of what the “real” injustices were within society and wrote their pieces accordingly. To many people of this time period, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Nellie Bly were seen as a few of the “groundbreakers” behind the United States women’s and other human rights movement. Through these two works, two separate areas of this women’s movement were addressed and the appropriate changes were made. 

In conclusion, the work that these two women did for the overall reformation of women’s rights were very influential. Their efforts to change an area that had not been adequately addressed were key in molding the thought of women forever. The number of women’s lives that were changed in a time where it was believed that women had no real mental capacity had never been seen before.  In 2016, over one hundred after each of these works have been released, women’s rights and overall treatment are still at the forefront of many discussions. Although better understood, many women are still in situations where they are not being treated with same respect and dignity that should by now be a social norm. Without the writing of both “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Ten Days in a Madhouse” many feminist views on society would be much different. In many ways, both of these writers were key contributors to what is now known as feminism. Since their time, continued expansion has continued to take place and has finally peaked over a century after both of their writings were published.
