Men and women have had different value in society throughout time. During the period that “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written, relationships between men and women were based on hierarchies. Men viewed themselves as superior to women, a perception that directly effected the female lifestyle. This hierarchal system could also be seen in the healthcare treatment of men and women. Mental illness was something that effected both groups, but it was treated very differently between the two genders. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the female protagonist struggles with her mental health, and the way it is addressed by the male figures in her life parallels the ever-present theme of male dominance in society today.

The woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was told that she had a temporary nervous depression, which is a slight hysterical tendency. Both her brother and her husband were doctors. They both decided on her method of treatment and wanted to begin it as soon as possible. To do so, her husband, John, gave her a regimented plan that required bed rest, no writing, and daily medication. Her treatment took place in a house that John had rented for the two of them, during the summer. The house was mansion-like and “quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village” (The Carolina Reader 300). The wife went back and fourth often about whether or not she liked the house. It was very elegant, but the emptiness made her feel very lonely. When John was gone during the day she felt even more alone. When                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           John tended to his other patients, he gave his wife guidelines for what she was allowed to do while she was alone in the house. He told her “exercise depends on her strength” and she can enjoy “air [that she] can absorb all the time” (The Carolina Reader 301). In a house filled with airy space and a lack of people, there was so much room for boredom. The strict rules that her husband provided her with, mixed with the absence of social interaction caused the woman to feel very sad. When John was at home, he would tell his wife how much better she was doing because of his treatment. Despite his opinion, the woman felt like she was not doing much better and feelings of sadness and loneliness still occurred. John never took what his wife said seriously. He decided whether or not she seemed to be getting better, while her opinion was disregarded. 

The woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was struggling with mental health problems. When she was alone in the house she often worried herself by overthinking things. One of her most prevalent thoughts involved an “almost smoldering unclean yellow strangely faded” wallpaper in her bedroom (The Carolina Reader 301). The woman explains how the wallpaper was deteriorating on many sides and was not fully pasted onto the walls of her bedroom. The wallpaper had a yellowish coloring that was weathered onto the pattern. After spending months in this room, the woman may have been exposed to harmful mold. The discolored wallpaper could be a sign of this mold growing on the walls. In the article “Airborne Mold and Endotoxin Concentrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Flooding, October through November 2005” written by Gina M. Solomon, Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Miriam Rotkin-Ellman and S. Katharine Hammond, the harmful effects of mold in New Orleans is discussed. The article gives insight to what kind of areas mold is prone to spore. In “airy rooms” much like the one in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, mold is able to reproduce and spread. Many of the complaints the woman in the story has can be linked to the mold on her bedroom walls. Mold can cause respiratory issues, severe headaches, flu-like symptoms and fever. The woman in the story could have been experiencing some of these sides effects. This would explain why she did not feel like herself most of the time. Physical damage to her body could have been caused by the mold in the house that her and John were living in for the summer. Although John claimed she was getting better, his wife may have been getting worse due to their living conditions.

The relationship John and his wife shared was more like that of a parent and child than that of a husband and wife. The woman relied on her husband for her basic needs such as food and water, and also for social interaction. He was in charge of her behavior, and made her oblige to his rules. In one instance John refers to his wife as “little girl” (The Carolina Reader 306) instead of a name more appropriate for a woman of her age. By John calling her this name he showed the way he saw his wife, as a child. He believed that he was responsible of taking care of this “child” and helping her get better. Because he was both a male, and her husband, he viewed himself as much stronger and self-reliant than his wife would ever be. This superiority creates a pattern of male dominant behavior. Under this, a women is forced to fall helpless to those above her, and men are given power to control the woman’s body and health. 

Treatment methods for a lot of mental health issues in women were very similar to one another. The method of treatment John administered to his wife was very similar to the methods of Dr. Weir Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell was a well known physician that dealt with women experiencing a variety of unfavorable symptoms. Some of these symptoms included headaches, anxiety, and irritability. As explained in a peer review journal by David G. Schuster, Mitchell believed women were better off in the kitchen, cleaning the house, and tending to their husbands. Much like John, Mitchell’s treatment methods for his patients included bed rest and avoiding any deep thinking or mental exertion. Mitchell made sure that “each woman tailored her treatment to fit her personal responsibilities”(Schuster). The personal responsibilities of a woman during this time period included taking care of her family, cooking, and cleaning. The treatment Weir administered was supposed to help a female patient get back to her “normal” self, so she could tend to her family and household again. This was the goal of John as well. He wanted his wife to get back to her usual self, and be happy again. Both John and Mitchell believed that their treatment methods would help women get back to this “normalcy” they once knew. The “normalcy” they wanted was one that enforced male dominance in the social hierarchy. If a woman is unable to perform her womanly duties, it was the job of the man, who was viewed as a much stronger individual, to help the woman find her place again.

 Weir was viewed as a misogynist because of his gender biased treatment methods. Whether or not this label of Weird is accurate, it is clear that he was not the only doctor to hold these views on women and their mental health treatment. It is no secret that Weir’s method of treating his female patients reflected on him negatively, often painting him as a male supremacist. As controversial as he may have been, other male doctors were also practicing medicine in similar ways. Wendy Mitchinson’s review of the book “Body Failure” by Susan L. Smith, Mitchinson discusses how the female body was viewed by a male doctor during the 1900-1950 time period. Her data was collected throughout Canada, mainly between white female patients and white male doctors that spoke english. Her findings showed that many doctors saw the female body as inferior to the male. Not only were females built differently, but they were also structurally weaker than males were. The most important function of the female body was the reproductive system. According to male doctors, the reproductive system controlled the whole makeup of the female body. They saw many of the problems that women were having as hormonal imbalances. Mitchinson discusses how many women in her data findings were subjected to treatments such as bed rest and relaxation, much like what John and Dr. Weir prescribed. Not only were these treatments common in the United States under doctors such as Weir, but Canadian doctors were also using such “rest cure” methodology. The method of treatment for women was common across multiple countries.  It can be concluded that a male-dominant society was not just prevalent in the United States, but in other countries too. 

Mental illnesses and the treatment methods for them are issues dealt with in society to this day. Much of the controversy first arose when gender roles became valued as important in society. In the article, “Extending Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice to Men and Women With Sex-Typed Mental Illnesses” written by Anne M. Koenig and Alice H. Eagly, contrasts are made between mental illnesses typically associated with men and women. So often labels are placed on individuals in society. These labels are very present in the mental illness world as well. Some types of mental illness are closer associated with a certain gender. For instance, anti-social behavior and drug and alcohol abuse are more commonly associated with men. This is because men are typically seen as quicker reactors than females are. They are more impulsive in the decision making process. Unlike men, women are more closely associated with depression and anxiety disorders. This is because women are seen as more emotional and in touch with their feelings and beliefs than men are. Some aspects of these labels may be accurate, however, this is not to say that only women get certain mental illnesses and only men get others. By labeling illnesses with specific genders, gender roles are being applied. Without knowingly doing it, the gender hierarchy is creating a barrier for women and men to interact. Instead, men and women are being categorized by their differences. Another issue that this presents is due to gender roles. In a study conducted by Koenig and Eagly it was found that men were more suitable for “agentic roles” whereas women were more suitable for “communal roles”. For a man struggling with mental illness a power struggle will amount within him. He is inclined to want a position of power and authority, but because of labels on the mental illness he is struggling with, he may be unable to maintain this power. The same goes for a woman. She knows there are labels toward the mental illness she is struggling with, but she still has a desire to fit in a social group and be accepted by a communal group of individuals. This only reinforces the gender stereotypes that are in place and hinders the female population struggling with mental illness. Many treatment methods for women with mental illness during this time period were rest and relaxation. Symptoms women were experiencing were extremely overlooked, and the reasons were concluded to be “hormonal imbalances”. Treatment for men with mental illness was quite the opposite. Many men participated in the “West Cure”. This was a time for men to enjoy the outdoors, ride horses, and interact with other men. For women, getting better meant being confined to no social interaction and a lot of rest, for men the exact opposite was prescribed. The treatment for men and women varied so drastically. Although the treatment may have been different, this pattern of unequal treatment between genders is one that repeats itself in society constantly. Women being viewed as lesser than men and dealing with their mental health differently than men is something not new to society. 

Whether you were a woman living in the 1950s, or are a woman living in American Society today, noticeable gender gaps are present. Men and women have been seen as two separate entities since the beginning of time. Much like the Rest Cure treatment versus the West Cure treatment, unequal playing fields between men and women are still present today. This can be seen in the workforce. Women are still making less money than men. For doing the same job, working the same amount of time, in the same, if not more difficult conditions, women are paid less. The workforce is a primary example of the inequality present between men and women. Another example found in the workforce is the maternity policy. After a woman has a child, she is given maternity leave. Unlike new mothers, new fathers are rarely given time off of work. Even if a father is given time off, the amount of time is usually significantly less than that of the mother. This is another way gender roles are enforced in society. By giving women more time off after having a child , society is telling women that they are meant to be the primary caretaker of their children. Men are therefore giving much less responsibility in the childcare process, and instead their efforts are focused towards making money while the woman stays home and takes care of the kids. It may seem unfair for the man to go back to work, but for most families it would be impossible for both parents to take an extended period of time off of work to take care of a newborn. Instead of having the opportunity to decide which parent will stay home with the child for the longer amount of time, the responsibility is designated to the mother.  The inequality that has crept into society stems back to gender roles and the long standing hierarchy where men trump women. If the roles were reversed and the father of the child took time off of work while the mother went back to work society would pass judgement on the woman. She may be seen as a negligent mother, or careless parent. Even if it is unintentional, judgement will be passed by members of society. This judgement is part of human nature. 

The question that arises is “how did a male-dominated society continue over all of this time?” The answer to that question is not one straightforward reason. Instead it involves multiple parts. One reason involves the norms of society. Women were used to being less than men and they really have had no say in the matter. Speaking out against it would have been seen as unladylike. As time went on, this norm became more and more set into our culture. After a while, it is hard to undue something that has been in place for so long. Now in our present day society it seems somewhat impossible to completely rid our nation of male-dominance. Change can happen, but nothing can be undone overnight. As exemplified in “The Yellow Wallpaper” relationships between wife and husband in the early 1900s differed greatly from relationships in our society today. Norms can be undone, but as said, it takes time. For so long women have been viewed as the lesser gender, and this is a stereotype that has dug deep into our culture. Instilling this gender barrier in our culture not only separates one another, but it creates a message for younger generations to pick up on. Although male dominance is still a prevalent theme in society today, slowly changes are being made to fix the gap between men and women. 

In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” a story of a woman struggling with mental illness is told. The way she is treated for her illness, by her husband John exemplifies gender roles in society. John creates a barrier between himself and his wife as he tries to help her get better. This barrier is invisible, yet so prevalent in the wife’s day to day life. This barrier is seen through John’s dominant behavior relating to her treatment, and his need for her to obey his rules and conditions. By participating in this treatment, the wife is alienated from the outside world, and her own self. John is the dominant force in the relationship between himself and his wife. His controlling nature towards her represents the male dominance that is present is society to this day. This male dominance is one that has created an invisible hierarchy where women are at the bottom of the totem pole. 
