Psychological Disorders In The Yellow Wallpaper

The house is in a super-isolated place. The house represents the narrator 's personal emotions; restricted and isolation. In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the symbolism of the the wallpaper and the diary demonstrate the psychological difficulties, that were caused by being disrespected and thought less of, during the 19th century for women across the United States. In the “Yellow Wallpaper”, the woman 's husband John neglects her symptoms of postpartum and says she has a slight hysterical tendency. As this progresses, the woman starts to go mad from ignorance and starts to believe there is someone behind the Wallpaper.

The narrator from the beginning kept saying she hated the wallpaper, and that she kept seeing a very weird pattern that didn’t make any sense. It’s kind of obvious each time she spent inspecting the wall, she became more “sick” or made her sickness progress. Thus making her more comfortable with the yellow wallpaper. The narrator even says “… and I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself. “(Gilman, page 475).

Guilt and isolation are outcomes of sins committed by people such as Hester and Dimmesdale in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. When somebody has committed a sin that they instantly regret, the first feeling they experience is guilt. They have this constant reminder in their minds that they have done something terrible and can not undo their action. This memory could remain in someone's mind for a while and can slowly deteriorate their lives making it miserable like Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale suffers the consequences differently than any other person has in the Puritan community.

Frankie couldn’t find any doctors to help her get back on her feet, so she would lie in bed all day. As a result of this, her limbs died and had to be cut off. In effect, her mental and emotional state worsened. Frankie blamed himself for allowing Maggie to push herself beyond her limit and to paralysis. When she asked Frankie to help her end her suffering, he felt he had no choice but to do so, in spite of the fact that he didn’t want to end her suffering by ending her life.

The narrator seems to be sane at the beginning of the story, but her husband’s attempts to cure her actually made the condition far worse. He confined her to a room and took away the one thing she loved to do; using her imagination as a writer. He stated that she should not be socially active, as it will worsen her condition, but being in isolation actually made things worse. She disagreed with his actions, but was unwilling to go against him. One example is when Charlotte said, “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus -- but John says the very worst thing that I can do is think about my condition and I confess it always makes me feel bad, so I will let it alone and talk about the house.”

This theme is subtly shown throughout the story, but becomes more apparent after the main event, the slaughter. After Date Bed is presumed missing, Mud, despite the fact that she is not of She-S blood, shows concern for her friend and adopted family member throughout the story – “It is just as well that Mud’s thoughts can’t be heard because what she is thinking is, “I’m the one who loves her. None of you loves her as I do,” and the uselessness of her love arouses her to such a pitch of anguish that she thinks of returning to the plain and searching for Date Bed on her own” (Gowdy, 105). The other She-S’s feel the same way as well – She-Snorts states, “I would not go to The Safe Place…knowing that Date Bed might still be alive and lost” (Gowdy, 249). If the She-S’s didn’t care for their family as much, they would have abandoned all thought of Date Bed and wouldn’t bother searching for her.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator is suffering from postpartum depression. The narrator 's husband John, who also happens to be her physician, prescribes the rest cure to help lift his wife of her depressive state and ultimately heal her depression. However, the rest cure does not allow the narrator to experience any mental stimulation. Therefore, to manage her boredom the narrator begins obsessing over the pattern of the yellow wallpaper. After analyzing the pattern for awhile, the narrator witnesses a woman trapped behind bars.

Finally, at the end of the story she has completely lost her sense of self and her obsession with the yellow wallpaper overpowers her. Over the course of the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman shows the effects that postpartum depression can have on one’s life. In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman progressively illustrates how mental illness can lead to insanity if it is not treated properly. When the narrator and her husband, John, first arrive at their summer home, she knows better than anyone else what is best for her condition but she lets her opinions be completely

Additionally, he finally sees their perspective and thinks about their future. “He cannot see you now but still can weep and ponder on those bitter days to come which cruel consort with the world will prove” (Sophocles 78). Oedipus worries that his girls will never find a husband because of the misfortune of the family and because Oedipus holds power in society his news will be publicized to all. This is the first time the reader witnesses Oedipus thinking deeply about others lives. Because Oedipus losing his sight, he is finally able to see other’s perspectives.

Finally, her system at work starts to give way when nothing goes as scheduled and she bites off more than she can chew. Gradually, it also serves as a flaw when striving for perfection drives people away from her. Therefore, it causes her mother to give advice not wanted regarding perfectionism, and her boyfriend no longer wants to be around her. Above all, perfectionism both helps and harms the main character in this story.