English 102 Research Fact and Fiction: The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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Research Fact and Fiction: the yellow wall-paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Stetson/ Gilman in The yellow wallpaper explores the place of women in a marriage and how this affects their ability to negotiate their way by maintaining some form of independence as well as the impact of the power imbalance on the children. The inability of the women to express themselves when in a marriage highlights that women in marriages were to be seen. Charlotte Perkins Stetson suffered from depression, while her husband and brother in the story suggested she take rest this was disastrous with the character unable to cope with the situation (Gilman 647-648). As such, Charlotte Perkins Gilman explores how the paternalistic culture may impede the creative women from pursuing their interests especially when they are faced with mental illness.
Gilman did seek medical attention from Mitchell in life when she a mental breakdown. In the story, the narrator stated that she did not wish to be sent to Weir Mitchell, as this would be no different from the suggested medical interventions of her husband and brother (Gilman 650). According to Johnson (522), Gilman’s story shows her as having suppressed rage rather than being mad, while highlighting the challenges of depicting mental illnesses with the narrator having a different perception about extent of her condition. For instance, Johnson (522) further points out that Emily Dickinson also expressed a similar idea of long-suppressed rage that affected her psychological but then a source of artistic redemption. To Gilman expressing the rage offers a path to redemption against the psychological and mental confinements of women (Johnson 522-523).
The main details regarding to treatment that Gilman received is narrated by her, and she suggested that the rest cure was inappropriate. Gilman’s account of the treatment regime is largely factual as she went against Mitchell’s advice and started writing rather than be held by the domestic work that she considered dependent upon men. However, there are fictional elements to the story, with the ending suggesting that she would have suffered negative consequences had she continued with treatment (Gilman 655-656). This is largely her perceptions about the interventions, which would result in her spending more time at home and playing a mother’s role. As such, the story is then a horror tale that also suggests that the women who lived lonely lives in the oppressive environments were at risk of mental breakdown (Golden 56).
Despite being married, Gilman was skeptical about marriage and motherhood, seeing the society’s expectations of women as a burden to mothers. However, in the story the narrator begins as a submissive and even passive person who has to gather strength after suffering a mental breakdown (Gilman 647- 648). The plot in the story then fictionalizes the life of the narrator, who had grown confident over time to take the world including her husband and challenging the authority. Furthermore, the narrator’s wife faints as the as the story ends but there is no evidence that this actually happened. However the illustrations that accompanied the story were outside...