Why does the mental health of the woman in The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, seem to deteriorate throughout the entirety of the short story? The woman does not seem to be very ill; but, as time progresses, it can be assumed that her state of mind is slowly worsening. While her husband, John, is a physician, it is mentioned multiple times by the woman, that he may have misdiagnosed the illness that she does seem to possess.
The images the woman sees in the wallpaper represent how unstable her mental health is, the way in which the wallpaper mirrors the image of her life, and how her mental health slowly fades when isolated from society for a long period of time. Throughout The Yellow Wallpaper, it can be inferred that the woman’s state of mind is slowly worsening. The woman in the story describes the walls of the room in which she is supposed to stay in bed, not hiding her general dislike of the color and design. It is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore. It was nursery first and then playroom and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls. “(page 2)
The woman’s state of mind is clear enough to recall details about the house and many of its other rooms, at the beginning of the story. It can be simply understood that she does not like the wallpaper covering the walls of the room in which she is encouraged to stay in. The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight. “(page 3) John believes that her staying in the room is the best thing for her, even after she protests such beliefs. The woman is treated each day with medication in which John prescribes for what he believes to be a nervous depressive episode; one that she will recover from with time and patience. As the time the woman spends in the isolated room progresses, there are subtleties that indicate her mental health is deteriorating.
The way the woman first began to write was clear and concise; however, it seems each time she breaks off, and then commences back into writing again, it starts to become jumbled and confusing. The words and phrases used by the woman begin to have little meaning to those who may come across it; but, hold an abundance of meaning for the woman who is creating an insanity no one can foresee. The writings that the woman works on throughout the story become a vital role in her mental health. If she were to not have written the entirety of her stay within the isolated room, it is impossible to know whether she would have lost her mind sooner.
It can be inferred that the woman in The Yellow Wallpaper may have some sort of psychological disorder that, if untreated, could drive her into the insanity that she becomes throughout the short story. A psychological disorder, such as schizophrenia, would cause the woman to become paranoid; which, when she was around John and Jennie, seemed to start happening more frequently as the progression of her writings continued. “I have watched John when he did not know I was looking, and come into the room suddenly on the most innocent excuses, and I’ve caught him several times LOOKING AT THE PAPER!
And Jennie too. I caught Jennie with her hand on it once. “(page 9) As the woman becomes more attached to the peeling wallpaper that covers the entire room, she also becomes more protective over it. She does not like when John or Jennie touch it, and is terrified that they may all see the same thing that she sees within the boundaries of the yellowed wallpaper: bars made of the darker parts of the wallpaper, trapping the woman in the lighter, peeled parts within the bars confines. Another symptom that would fall under having a serious mental disorder, is allucinations. She may not see multiple beings within her hallucinations, but it is made very prominent throughout the story, that she does see the woman trapped behind the darker wallpaper on many occasions.
“Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over”(page 10). Not only does she see the the woman in the wallpaper, but, eventually, she believes that she has become the woman within the wallpaper. I suppose I shall have to get back behind the pattern when it comes night, and that is hard! It is so pleasant to be out in this great room and creep around as I please! “(page 12) The woman in the wallpaper may symbolize how the woman is trapped within the room by John. The short story indicates that though John may not have been physical with the unknown woman; he did want to keep her in the room. At first, John does seem to give his wife the best care in which he can offer, telling her that bedrest is what will help her achieve her best state of wellbeing.
John assures the woman that she is getting better each time she inquires about her seemingly slow recovery. He establishes that she would not do well to ask too many questions about her recovery, and whether it would be good for her to have a change in setting. John is firm in where she must stay, persuading her to continue her medication. As John is a Physician, the woman is urged to believe every word that comes out of his mouth. At the start of her writings, it is clear that she feels taken care of and loved by John. I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful not to value it more. “(page 2) As the unknown woman’s writings continue, it is not hard to understand that the relationship between John and her is deteriorating along with her mental health. As she begins to experience the woman that she believes crawls about behind the wallpaper, she starts to push John away. The woman’s protectiveness for the wallpaper and that which she sees beyond, make her begin to see John for what he really is.
She no longer trusts each of the decisions he makes, and begins to hate his presence if he is in the room with her too long. The woman relishes in the time she spends alone; studying the wallpaper and the mysterious woman that travels about outside during the day, however, is locked within the confines of the wallpaper at night. While the woman may not try to comprehend why she sees the woman in the wallpaper, it can be inferred that it is a representation of her own life and the way in which John keeps her trapped.
She is a new mother and John is quick to throw their child in her face, keeping her as subdued as he wants her to be. He uses his profession to keep her from what he considers misbehaving as well, knowing that the unknown woman in the story is much more prone to listen when it comes from the man who treats her sickness. “My darling,’ said he, ‘l. beg of you, for my sake and for our child’s sake, as well as for your own, that you will never for one instant let that idea enter your mind! There is nothing so dangerous, so fascinating, to a temperament like yours.
It is a false and foolish fancy. Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so? “”(page 8) The woman is isolated from the world, forced to mostly stay in one room while they are renting the large house. She rarely has an opportunity to leave the yellow wallpapered room, which may be another reason her mental health is deteriorating. She has little contact with anyone from the outside world other than Jennie and John; both of which seem to prefer the woman kept locked away from others.
Since the woman has little contact with others, it is not hard to understand why she begins to lose her mind. As she has no one to communicate to and her feelings are not spoken, but written down, it becomes clear as to why she would begin to imagine objects within the peeling wallpaper. John and Jennie seem unable to understand the necessities for a mentally ill person, as they do not believe that she should be diagnosed with anything other than nervous depression. They tend to her needs by taking care of all aspects of her life for her.
She does not get to make her own decisions, but, instead, is told what to do. Since the woman has an already fragile state of mind, it is not impossible to believe that the isolation has caused her to see images within the wallpaper that is torn apart around the room. Due to her being alone, it can also be decided as to why the color, smell, and peelings of the wall have started to grow on her and become more of a companion than those who accompany her inside of the vastness of the house. “I turned it off with a laugh.
I had no intention of telling him it was BECAUSE of the wall-paper-he would make fun of me. “(page 9) To the woman, the wallpaper is more alive than John and Jennie seem to be when around her. She alive because her mind, which is mentally unstable, has deemed her a fine companion. She views the wall as terrifying, yet she is also intrigued by the woman who is only stuck behind it at night. The woman knows much of the isolation the woman in the wallpaper seems to feel, though she does not know the freedom that the woman in the wallpaper has by day.
At times, the trapped woman seems to be both reassuring and daunting to the woman. She longs for the day she is able to walk freely, and that is a privilege she does not possess throughout the story. The mental stability that the woman has, slowly disintegrates throughout The Yellow Wallpaper, for many reasons. It is, therefore, impossible to say that the woman was not insane before, but, in her writings, her thoughts tend to be much more understandable when the story begins. It can be inferred that she slowly was pushed to the limit that her sanity could take.
As the story progresses, it becomes troublesome to perceive what is most likely to be reality and what is probably not. It is apparent that the woman did believe wholeheartedly that she saw the images of the trapped woman in the yellow wallpaper. She may have seen such images because she had any variety of mental disorders, John kept her locked away, which made her picture the woman locked away as she herself was, or the isolation of the room and its dull wallpaper, drove her to her insanity.
