Throughout the last century, the relationships between males and females has drastically changed. The role of women in society has played a big part in this change. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator struggles with postpartum disorder. Like other women in the late nineteenth century, the narrator experienced unfair treatment when it came to solving their “disorders.” Often, women found their husbands and doctors taking control of the decisions based on their mental health. It was like this because women played a submissive role within their society. The husband was supposed to play the role of the breadwinner. These roles in society have changed dramatically since then with women playing a more important role in this world.

In the short story, postpartum disorder is not mentioned as the narrator’s disorder. Rather, the narrator describes herself as always being nervous when around her newborn baby, “It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous” (Gilman, 302). According to Cheryl Beck, who researched and wrote about postpartum depression, says one of the symptoms of this disorder is having anxiety when around the newborn child (Beck, 41). It was because of her nervousness that her husband John moved their family out into the country in hope of curing her. John happened to be a physician of high standing and felt that is was his duty to take care of his wife. The narrator goes on to discuss her prescriptions, “So I take phosphates or phosphites- whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again” (Gilman, 300). While these medications and activities could help, they are not actual remedies for postpartum depression. Beck discusses in her article different types of therapies that women who struggle with postpartum depression, such as support groups or psychotherapy (Beck, 47). The narrator’s husband is mistreating her disorder because of his inability to properly diagnose her symptoms. 

John threatened to send the narrator to Weir Mitchell in the fall if she did not pick up on her recovery. It is obvious that she does not want to go there because she says, “I had a friend who was in his hands once, and she says he is just like John and my brother, only more so” (Gilman, 304). Her husband does not allow her to leave their room often, only on some holidays when a relative or two comes for a visit. In the late nineteenth century, women were expected to be poised. If they were to act against their husband, they would be declared insane and sent to an asylum as an alternative to divorce (Kassidy). Women often did not have the choice, and were forced into these asylums by their angry husbands. Jean Charles Kassidy states that “Insane asylums essentially were used as storage units for unsatisfactory wives” (Kassidy). It can be assumed that Weir Mitchell was also a physician that treated his patients with the “resting cure” that eventually drives them to insanity, like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 

This sort of behavior between husband and wife has radically changed since the nineteenth century. It wasn’t until the early twentieth century that women began to fight for their rights, and continued to do so leading into the twenty-first century. In over a century, women have become more equal to their spouses. Women also have gained more control over themselves when it comes to things such as health and employment. The men in families are now not always the breadwinner, and women are not always classified as the stay at home housewife. When Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper,” most families lived a traditional lifestyle. In her article, Kassidy says 

“Women were expected to behave according to society’s expectations, held to the archetype of the obedient housewife and mother.  As such, they had almost entirely no input on decisions concerning their lives, especially in regards to matters such as their mental health.  The women of this time period were expected to be dutiful, subservient housewives that stayed home to do little other than take care of the children, and keep order in the house.  It was the men who made all the decisions in the household” (Kassidy).

Throughout the short story, the narrator showcases several times where she is subservient to her husband. Once while discussing with John how she felt about the house, he quickly dismissed it and blamed it on her condition. However, rather than arguing with him, she goes on to say “But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self-control; so I take pains to control myself” (Gilman, 300). Because John says to do it, the narrator does so.

In the late 1800’s, Sir Weir Mitchell developed the resting cure. According to author Ellen Bassuk, the physician developed the cure for soldiers who suffered from battle fatigue, but most women described in literature used the treatment to cure their battle fatigue on the homefront (Bassuk, 247). Women diagnosed with hypochondria or hysteria were often also treated with the rest cure, but it did not always serve its purpose, “Supposedly, many benefitted but others, such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Virginia Woolf, became even sicker and condemned both Mitchell and his treatment” (Bassuk, 245). In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator was never fond of this treatment even when it was only monitored by her husband. While in treatment, she was not allowed to work or write. The narrator disagrees with their ideals, and even says “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (Gilman, 300). However, because she was a woman in society, she had little to no control over her own mental health.

Today, the role of women in society is significantly different than it was in the late nineteenth century. While there are still women who stay at home and take care of the house, most women today are employed and there are many women who hold high standing positions within their company. It is common to see women advocating for rights over their body and to not be oppressed by society. Women feel as if they have a voice, something that they did not have long ago. For the past century, women, with help from men too, have worked to achieve the right to vote, the right to an abortion, and other things that still stand today. This change shows the drastic differences between the women of the nineteenth and twentieth century. 

As women gained more power in the world, men steadily lost some of theirs. These changes were not initially accepted everywhere, but were eventually acknowledged by men and women nationally. These changes have brought equality between men and women. Today, women have control of their mental and physical health, and play a part in the family’s income. People of the nineteenth century would disagree with the way society treats men and women today, just like the people of the present disagree with the way of life from older times.
