In her iconic short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman leaves her mark on American literature. Gilman, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1860, experienced numerous personal setbacks during her life, including issues with mental illness and the restricting gender stereotypes of her time (Davis). Gilman heavily relied on her own experiences when writing “The Yellow Wallpaper,” an influential work that portrays the entrapment of women in a culture dominated by men. The main character, Jane, was subject to her insanity not because of mental illness, rather due to the actions and beliefs of her husband, John. Gilman’s decision to leave her husband perhaps represents the alternate reality she chose over life of the entrapped woman in marriage, as she portrays through “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The complex interactions between Gilman’s personal experiences and her literary work are shown through the perspective of this story, revealing how these experiences inspired the chilling tale of a woman’s descent into madness.
From the very start of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” John projects a patronizing attitude of authority, placing himself as the ultimate judge of Jane’s wellbeing. Because he is a doctor, his supposed professional experience supports his claims and allows no room for testimony from Jane. Her tendency to give in to authority as well as the prevalent prejudices against women within society at the time cause her to accept his judgments without question. This is shown when Gilman writes, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do?” (Gilman). John essentially gaslights Jane into thinking that her experiences are just hysterical outbursts by dismissing her worries about her mental health and reinforcing the concept that her thoughts and feelings are invalid. As defined by Paige L. Sweet in her article from the American Sociological Review journal, gaslighting is “A type of psychological abuse aimed at making victims seem or feel ‘crazy’, creating a ‘surreal’ interpersonal environment.” (Sweet 1). This definition is a representation of John and Jane’s relationship, and reinforces the idea that his use of psychological abuse pushes Jane into a surreal and unnatural mental state, subjecting her to the insanity she endures. The traits of this relationship clearly show the repressive power dynamic, which challenges Jane’s own understanding of reality. This dynamic forces Jane to accept John’s alleged superiority, despite what she believes is good for her own mental health. As a result, she is cornered into the room with yellow wallpaper, left with nothing but her thoughts and imagination. Between John’s decision to confine Jane in the room and her inability to question his methods, her insanity is inevitable.
Not only did John hold physical authority over Jane, but he also controlled her creative outlets and emotions by forbidding her from writing. His forceful behavior and certainty that he knows the right thing for her are made clear by this restriction. John effectively silences Jane’s voice and keeps her within the limitations of her room, physically and mentally, by preventing her from engaging in a meaningful activity that she finds peace in. For Jane, writing is a process of therapy and relief that enables her to express her thoughts. Gilman shows her readers this when she writes, “I did write for a while in spite of them; … having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition.” and “There comes John, and I must put this away, – he hates to have me write a word.” (Gilman). Jane uses writing as a way to declare her individuality from John and take control of the circumstances he forces her into. She is cut off from this necessary outlet by John’s prohibition, which leaves her alone with her thoughts and causes her to focus more intently on the room’s yellow wallpaper. Her internal conflict with the wallpaper worsens and causes her mental health to further deteriorate since she lacks any creative outlets. Furthermore, this prohibition contributes to Jane’s overall sense of isolation, powerlessness, and loss of identity, subjecting her to the insanity within her fate.
Following the same pattern of power dynamic and repression, John also forbids Jane from seeing her own family. Understanding how this confinement and isolation led Jane to insanity begins with the power dynamic of her and John’s relationship, a consistent theme throughout the story. He actively isolates Jane’s relationships by prohibiting her to see her family, making her emotionally vulnerable and entirely reliant on him for company and reassurance. In addition to being physically constrained, Jane is also emotionally constrained because she is placed in a position where her viewpoint is consistently dismissed. Her solitude is made worse by John’s insistence that his medical judgment has supremacy over her personal emotions. This dynamic is well represented through Gilman’s words, “I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia. But he said I wasn’t able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there; and I did not make out a very good case for myself, for I was crying before I had finished” (Gilman). Her inability to express her thoughts and feelings to her family further reinforces the idea that her voice is worthless without John’s approval. Hence, she is unable to share with John her true emotions about the room she resides in, and more importantly the wallpaper she examines day after day. Furthermore, Jane’s inability to have a reasonable talk with John without crying shows the audience how fragile her ego and mental state have become.
Lastly, the relentless infestation of John’s demands over Jane’s thoughts, actions, and emotions is a main aspect of what drives her to insanity. Throughout the progression of the story, John’s position as both her husband and doctor repeatedly hinders Jane’s attempts to express her own perceptions and desires. This dynamic emphasizes the deep imbalance of power in their marriage. No matter how strongly Jane may feel or think John’s dismissive attitude makes her feelings and thoughts irrelevant. Research conducted by Diane R. Follingstad supports the claim that women who experience psychological abuse in a relationship are subject to mental health disorders, physical manifestations, and changes in personality traits. As she writes in her article from the Trauma, Violence & Abuse journal, “Male-to-female psychological aggression was predictive of anxiety as measured by the (BSI) subscale of anxiety.” (Follingstad 278). This evidence supports the idea that Jane’s healthy mental state was being slowly chipped away at by John, making her mind and emotions more fragile with each statement. John does not realize he is the cause of this, and instead he blames Jane herself, pushing her further down the spiral into insanity. John ignores Jane’s attempts to express her displeasure with the room’s wallpaper, concerns about her mental state, and her desire to see her family. She is less able to be independent and trust herself as a result of his medical expertise, social standing, and patriarchal entitlement, leading her to suffer alone in that room. Even Jane is aware of this disparity of power, as Gilman reveals when she writes, “John is a physician, and perhaps – (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind – ) perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.” (Gilman). Despite knowing what is best for herself, Jane is forced to comply with her husbands demands even though her personal opinion contradicts his. Because of this, Jane continues each day knowing she is worsening, but also knowing she can never contradict John’s orders. As a result she blindly follows the path towards insanity, diminishing her mind each night she lies awake, staring at the wallpaper.
As an iconic piece of feminist literature, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman demonstrates the ongoing fight for women’s liberation and the lasting effects of suppressing women’s voices. The story is both a dismal reflection of the past and an emotional call to breakdown systems of patriarchal power and give voices back to women. Since Gilman’s time, the path for women in society has been drastically repaved. However, the power dynamic still exists, even if less prevalent or hidden. Especially outside the United States, such as Afghanistan, women continue the fight against overpowering and dictating men. As explained in a post from the BBC News website, many Afghan women lost their jobs, can no longer go to school, and are forced to stay inside. This harsh reality for these women is reflected through “The Yellow Wallpaper,” as this story remains to be a wake up call for society. Gilman’s ability to display the effects of suppression and isolation can be motivating to future leaders and all people to work towards equality and fairness.