Introduction
The fact that Charlotte Perkins Gilman successfully conveyed an in-depth understanding of what should be regarded as the emergence of one’s mental illness in The Yellow Wallpaper is one of the reasons why it has such a high intellectual and literary value. In this story, Gilman demonstrates her genuine skills as a psychologist who saw the level of theoretical underdevelopment in psychiatry in the late 19th century. In particular, she highlights the flaws of traditional mental treatment approaches and the gender bias common among male practitioners during that time.
The novel’s protagonist, Jane, is a patient treated by so-called rest therapy against her will. Her husband, John, is a psychiatrist who prescribed this treatment superficially, supporting his unverified assumptions with contemporary societal prejudices. Thus, the research question of the current paper will elaborate on why this attitude is not only scientifically invalid but also arrogantly blind.
Rest Treatment
Background
Since its development, rest treatment has been utilized by many of Gilman’s psychiatric contemporaries. It was developed by S. Weir Mitchell shortly after the Civil War as a cure for neurasthenia, physical and emotional exhaustion attributed to poor physiological body condition. It increases stress from social interactions (Kelly 40).
The therapy unified all standard practices for treating nervous conditions, including dietary regulations, social isolation, daily massages, and bed rest (Neuwirth 4). However, what contributed to the sensational success of the therapy was the concrete definition of a target population – upper-class women (Kelly 41). More importantly, the fact that the patients benefited from isolation allowed psychiatry to frame neurasthenia as a socially deviant behavior.
The implication of this perfectly fitted into one of the main misconceptions of the psychiatry of the 19th century. According to Kelly, there was a firm belief that one’s rational consciousness defines the unconscious part of the psyche (44). Although Mitchell’s theory regarding the power of social stigma on an individual’s mental state can be considered correct, labeling external influence as a decisive factor proved wrong.
The isolation aspect of the rest treatment meant to create a perfect environment in which nothing interfered with the patient’s ability to apply conscious effort to regain self-control (Kelly 44). However, as Gilman later highlighted in her short story, restricting patients for a prolonged period was not only questionable. Still, it could also lead to further mental exacerbations (Stiles and Swenson 37). In this context, by exaggerating personal experience, Gilman exemplified how this mental deterioration occurred in the case of Jane.
John’s Perspective
According to the story, Jane and John decided to seclude themselves in a remote estate because it could benefit the narrator’s mental health. This way, Jane would not encounter any socialization-related difficulties throughout the vacation. The decision was made predominantly on John’s part; as a psychiatrist, he was aware of his wife’s mental issues in the form of mild postpartum depression (Gilman 6). However, it can be seen that his accomplishments in the field hindered his critical thinking abilities. His belief in the temporariness of Jane’s undesirable mental developments and her ability to address them by applying conscious effort illustrates John’s adherence to the contemporary scientific field (Gilman 2).
Moreover, although the narrator’s mental health continued to deteriorate while she was residing at the estate, John insisted on his wife maintaining a reclusive life. John was unable to convince himself to at least entertain the notion that his wife’s deteriorating mental state was not just the result of external factors. Ironically, Jane could not continue with an everyday social life, which led to a tragic end.
Jane’s Perspective
The degree to which the rest of the treatment was inappropriate in the story’s case becomes much more apparent from the narrator’s perspective. The words such as “you see, he (John) does not believe I am sick” or “he knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him” illustrate this (Gilman 1, 2). Throughout the story, Jane’s comments provide further detail about her deteriorating condition. For instance, her initial depressive episodes, triggered by negative self-reflection, are strengthened by a feeling of guilt (Gilman 2).
John constantly restrained her from displaying certain emotions, prompting Jane to suppress anger and frustration (Gilman 2). Understandably, behaving against one’s own will resulted in accumulating mental exhaustion. The most horrifying part was that Jane genuinely desired to adhere to her husband’s expectations, and failing to do so caused her personality to split (Gilman 10). Overall, rest treatment did nothing but allow mild depression to evolve into schizophrenic manifestations, proving itself scientifically invalid in the context of therapy’s perceived generalizability.
Hysteria and Gender Bias
Background
Medical professionals have long been confused by the unexplained symptomatology of neurologic conditions. The condition termed hysteria belongs among the byproducts of this confusion, originating in ancient Greece and changing its definition up to the 19th century (Cassady 15). According to Cassady, hysteria encompassed symptomatology similar to that of depressive and anxiety disorders and was highly prevalent in the female population (15). Notably, this did not imply that the same symptoms could not occur in men; however, in male cases of hysteria, it was generally associated with other syndromes, such as, for instance, hypochondriasis (Cassady 15).
Apart from a rather broad and constantly prone to changing definitions, the confusion around hysteria was further strengthened by the peculiarities of medical research registration. In particular, Kohl comments on using various literary and aesthetic devices in medical research in the 19th century and before it (196). Contemporary psychiatrists had complete freedom of expression and interpretation when writing reports of their research and findings (Kohl 196). Due to this, medical reports had to be analyzed as novels rather than nowadays research papers.
The combination of these factors resulted in one of history’s most significant female predicaments. Yogapriya defines a predicament as an “unpleasant and difficult situation that is hard to escape” (p. 17). In turn, the involvement of gender in the matter surrounding hysteria is promoted due to men fully representing the field of 19th-century psychiatry (Yogapriya 17). The implication of this is that, by diagnosing hysteria, men were able to exercise control over women, imposing restrictions and limiting their freedom. In this context, the elements of patriarchal oppression and ideas of feminism and desired emancipation can be traced in Gilman’s story.
John’s Perspective
From John’s perspective, the situation appears to be clear and straightforward. Firstly, he displays unshakable faith in the correctness of his decisions (Gilman 2). The signs of his realization of his delusions can only be seen on the last page of the story, when John faints, unable to comprehend his wife’s insanity (Gilman 10).
Secondly, John utilizes patriarchal dominance in society to influence decision-making. That is, by labeling his wife’s hysterical manifestations as typical for women, he devalues Jane’s condition in the eyes of the family to be able to initiate the rest treatment (Gilman 2).
Furthermore, John is condescending toward his wife’s opinion regarding the matter. He views Jane’s actions as irrational and purely emotional to justify her dismissal (Gilman 1). Jane comments, stating, “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (Gilman 1). In addition, this line further demonstrates the expected position of women in society.
Jane’s Perspective
In the meantime, Jane’s perspective is filled with notions of oppression and alienation. For instance, all male figures mentioned in the story – John and Jane’s brother, both psychiatrists – are labeled as Jane’s enemies. Namely, this is how Jane comments on hysteria being seen as usual in women: “My brother is also a physician, and he is also of high standing, and he says the same thing” (Gilman 2). In this situation, Jane is portrayed as helpless against this authority. She mentions her inability to persuade her husband and relatives to pay more attention to what she truly experiences (Gilman 1-2).
As the story unfolds, the only way for Jane to find her freedom is to lose her sanity within the notorious yellow wallpaper. Her final exclamation, which she addressed to John and her previous personality, “I’ve got out at last despite you and Jane,” illustrates the joy of no longer needing to oblige external restrictions (Gilman 10). In many ways, this serves as an example of contemporary social issues that Gilman intended to draw attention to.
Conclusion
Overall, the tragic end of The Yellow Wallpaper exemplifies the underdevelopment of contemporary psychiatric methods and socially prevalent gender bias. Instead of paying attention to what he observed and listening to the patient’s needs, John unthinkingly followed the engraved contemporary vision of the problem. He played a significant part in Jane’s insanity. In this chapter, Gilman did a great job of providing a detailed explanation of the progression of mental illness in an individual while simultaneously sounding alarms regarding contemporary issues.
Works Cited
Cassady, Maureen. “Hysteria to Functional Neurologic Disorders: A Historical Perspective.” American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, 2019, p.15.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” National Library of Medicine, 1892. Web.
Kelly, Lori Duin. “Out of Just Relation to the World: Weir Mitchell’s Rest Cure and the Power of Stigmatization.” Bodily Inscriptions: Interdisciplinary Explorations into Embodiment, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021, pp. 40-55.
Kohl, Emma. “Literary Authority in Medicine: An Analysis of Women and Medicine in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” The Cupola, vol. 16, 2022, pp.193-199.
Neuwirth, Alison. “How Late 19th-Century Psychiatry Influenced the Birth of the American Western Genre.” American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal, vol 16, no. 4, 2021, pp. 4-5.
Stiles, Anne, and Kristine Swenson. “Introduction: Alternative Approaches to Health and Wellness in the Nineteenth Century.” Literature and Medicine, vol. 39, no. 1, 2021, pp. 34-43.
Yogapriya, S. “Female Predicament in the Novel the Yellow Wallpaper.” Louis Savenien Dupuis Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, vol. 1, 2022, pp. 17-20.