The Yellow Wallpaper: Gilman's Story of Depression and Recovery - Essay Sample

Introduction

Gilman's short story, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' describes the depression of the narrator after the birth of her child. The husband to the narrator was a physician who described the psychological condition as hysteria and advised the narrator to rest. Gilman writes the short story describing the situation and state of the narrator for a variety of reasons having in mind that most people suffer depression and psychiatric conditions silently. Gilman wrote the story to assist people in recovering from mental diseases and advice against the rest cure remedy, which is evident in the story when she describes the narrator's ordeal and deteriorating condition at home that later improved when she assumed her usual responsibilities.

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Gilman's Purpose in Writing "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Gilman wrote the short story to help people with mental and psychiatric conditions considering that she was once a victim. Gilman claimed to have suffered from a severe and continuous nervous breakdown (Gilman n.p). She identified a specialist who would assist her in managing her condition. The doctor, Dr Mitchell, proposed to Gilman to take rest as a cure for her health. The doctor told Gilman to stop all her intellectual activities and live domestic life as much as she could ('Analysis of "Why I Wrote the Wall Paper' n.p). For three months, Gilman stayed at home while obeying the doctor's prescription, which failed as described in the short story.

The Failure of the Rest Cure in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

'The Yellow Wallpaper' provides a detailed description of the narrator's experience when taking rest cure that showed deteriorating health and psychiatric condition hence showing that the rest cure prescribed by the doctor was not successful (Gilman 265). The narrator begins to see violent images of the yellow wallpaper in her room. More so, she personifies it with the thoughts that the wallpaper is in motion and other kinds of imaginations (Gilman 195). With time, the emotional state of the narrator deteriorates, and she hardly moves nor attends to her baby. Instead, she remains locked in her room, and she cries terribly. Such ordeals, as described by Gilman, are proof to show that the rest cure remedy proposed by Dr Mitchell failed in achieving its objective of curing psychiatric conditions.

Gilman claimed that after she assumed her usual responsibilities, her conditioned improved. The narrator is trapped in mental imaginations of wallpaper, which worsens her condition. Towards the end of the story, the narrator tries to free the woman behind the wallpaper, which signifies that she has abandoned the rest cure remedy (Gilman 204). Similarly, Gilman claimed that after she resumed her healthy life characterized by joy, work, and growth. Eventually, Gilman's condition dramatically improved, which shows that she wrote the story to encourage people to continue with their usual activities and avoid being caged regardless of their mental state.

Conclusion

To conclude, I feel that Gilman achieved her objective of discouraging the use of rest cure for the treatment of mental and psychiatric conditions to some extent. Notably, the rest cure was frequent in the treatment of diseases such as hysteria, neurasthenia, and other nervous conditions. More so, it was a treatment for the women rather than the male. However, the procedure is rarely used in the world today to treat those conditions. Gilman sent her doctor the copy of the story, but no evidence exists to show that she changed the rest cure she prescribed to patients. However, there is no way that one can determine the number of women that have been saved from rest cure after reading the story by Gilman. Although no significant change was evident at the time, Gilman has achieved her objectives with time. The conclusion derived is that Gilman story aimed at alleviating people from further mental breakdown due to the proposed rest cure by medical doctors.

Works Cited

Analysis of "Why I Wrote the Wall Paper.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "'Why I wrote the yellow wallpaper?'" Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol. 17, no. 4, July 2011, pp. 265-265, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/education/materials/WhyIWroteYellowWallPaper.pdf

Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper and Why I Wrote "the Yellow Wallpaper". United States: Blackstone Audio, Inc, 2013. Print