In The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator tells the story of her inner struggle with postpartum depression and the misdiagnosis of a nervous disorder by her husband in the late nineteenth century. The wrong diagnosis and mistreatment, or lack there of, eventually pushes the unnamed narrator to madness, causing her to see a woman inside the yellow wallpaper and makes it her personal goal to free her from within the paper. The events within this short story calls our attention to the treatment of mental illnesses. More specifically, it calls our attention to the maltreatment of women with mental illness in the late nineteenth century. There was a lack of recognition and treatment for these disorders. We are shown in this short story how a relatively curable and easily treatable disorder can lead to the eventual demise of a patient by a lack of treatment. By looking at the way the narrator’s illness was treated in The Yellow Wallpaper, we can see the maltreatment of mentally ill patients, especially women in the late 1800’s, which is important because it shows us the historical context of the story and how differently illnesses were treated then from how they are treated now. 

It is important to understand the narrator’s actual diagnosis of postpartum depression and the usual treatment to better understand the story. Although she was diagnosed by her husband as having a nervous disorder, the narrator assumably had postpartum depression based on her symptoms, which started soon after the delivery of her baby. It is normal for new mothers to experience a roller coaster of emotions from happy to sad to fear and for some to be slightly more extreme than they normally are. Typically, these emotions last up to two weeks after child birth. It becomes postpartum depression when the symptoms are severe and last longer than the two weeks post child birth. This mental illness is described as long lasting depression following the birth of a child due to the combination of hormonal changes, and the psychological adjustment to motherhood. This disorder affects ten percent of women who have given birth. The symptoms of postpartum depression are a change in eating, sleeping, and concentration, fatigue, and/or excessive crying or sadness. Symptoms could also be shown by a lack of interest in the baby, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and/or anxiety.  In extreme cases, symptoms also include hallucinations and delusions. Further referred to as “the baby blues”, postpartum depression effects the relationship between the mother and baby, as the mother feels detached from the child. There are multiple helpful treatments for the women affected by this mental illness. Many say antidepressants worked, although there were raised concerns about the affect on the baby through breast feeding. Another treatment option was psychotherapy interventions which can either be within a group or by the families. Both approaches worked well, as the illness is a highly treatable condition. However, back in the nineteenth century, many families cared for mentally ill patients in a “home away from home” scenario. This is somewhere the patient is taken to be secluded from society allowing them time to get better. More often than not, this method of seclusion made the situation worse, causing the patient to go mad and in extreme cases, it results in madness or even suicide. Although this heartbreaking disorder is highly treatable in today’s time, back in the nineteenth century the maltreatment worsened the patients condition, showing us the difference in the health care system just two centuries apart. 

The Yellow Wallpaper is set in the late nineteenth century, a time where mental illnesses, like postpartum depression, were not fully understood, or taken seriously, by the health care system. Therefore, these conditions were not treated properly. Just like the narrator in the short story, people who had mental illness were sent somewhere isolated from society, allowing them time to get better. This “home away from home” is where family members, like the narrator’s husband John, would care for those affect by their conditions. However, the seclusion and isolation eventually drove the patients crazy. We are able to this see throughout the short story The Yellow Wallpaper. The narrator’s husband, John, seemingly diagnosed her symptoms of anxiety as a nervous disorder. His ‘treatment’ for her wrong diagnosis was to rest and be confined to a bed. He stuck her in her own room and left her alone with her thoughts, ignoring the fact that she needed actual medical attention. The extreme symptoms of hallucinations and delusions set in and the patient began to see a woman trapped in the yellow wallpaper. As her conditioned worsened, she made it her personal mission to try and break free the woman trapped which eventually drove her mad. As shown throughout the novel, mental illnesses back in the late nineteenth century, especially in women, were poorly treated or misdiagnosed which eventually led to worsened conditions and in intense circumstances, suicide.  

Recognition and treatment of mental health and illnesses were a lot different back in the late nineteenth century as those types of disorders were often disregarded and forgotten. As shown in the short story The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, most patients, like the narrator who had postpartum depression, were sent away to secluded homes to deal with their misdiagnosed nervous disorders. Their symptoms were ignored and they were told that they were fine. Little did they know, at the time, by removing them from society and social interactions it worsened their condition. Today, we know that with the help of antidepressants or interventions, postpartum depression is a condition that is highly treatable just like other mental illnesses. Knowing the historical context behind mental disorders and their treatments, we are allowed access into the mind of the narrator. It allows us to get an idea of everything that is going on in her mind. This is important because it shows us that ignoring the problem leads to bigger issues later on. The madness the narrator acquired, was due to a lack of acknowledgement that she had a legitimate medical condition called postpartum depression. This story shows us the strides that were made over the past two decades in the health care system.  
