Sanity for Independence

A detailed Summary of Sanity for Independence

A look at "The Yellow Wallpaper", by C.P Gilman

The short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a woman's cry for freedom. It is about a creative woman whose talents are suppressed by her dominant husband. His efforts to oppress her, in order to keep her within society's norms of what a wife is supposed to act like only lead to her mental destruction. He is more concerned with societal norms than the mental health of his wife. In trying to become independent and overcome her own suppressed thoughts, and her husbands false diagnosis of her; she loses her sanity.

One way the story illustrates his dominance is by the way he, a well-know and established doctor who should know better than to diagnose a family member, diagnoses her as having a temporary nervousness condition. After diagnosis, he prescribes bed rest as the cure. Without asking her, he takes her to their summer home to recover from the illness he does not believe she has. He tells her there is "no reason" why she feels the way she does; she should get rid of those "silly fantasies." In saying this to her, he is treating her like a child who does not really know how she feels, thus making her doubt herself. When she t

When she became comfortable with the room, she begins to tell John about the things she has been thinking. He became terrified of the ideas she was having and pleaded with her to control all of her ambitions and act sanely. It seems as though the doctor is insecure. He wants to restore some of his security about himself. He is implying that she must think of herself as getting better both in mind and in body, for the sake of other people, rather than herself. This would not be taking place if she were a man, but because she is not, she does not know what is best for her; and this leads to her rebellion and an all-out attempt to prove him wrong. Everything that the doctor told her not to do, from writing to going out, she does. Rebellion is a source of self-protection, for her sanity, and by writing and disobeying him, she is guarding her sanity. She does this by writing when there is nobody around to see her and by trying to move the bed.

To conclude, from the beginning, the narrator showed a sign of hopelessness but always questioned what her husband thought was best for her. What her husband wanted for her was the exact opposite of what she wanted. He wanted her to conform, to accept the environment she was placed in, and to not look for outside influences to help strengthen her, which was an indication of his insecurity. She accepted the environment that she was placed in but begins to slowly change it into what she wanted. Although her husband really believed that he was helping her, he was actually hurting her. He was stuck in society's thinking that woman wanted to be taken cared of and thought that, that is what he was doing. He could not understand why she began to react violently and angrily to the environment in which she was placed. Only by confronting her fears of what society and her husband would think about her, did she allow herself to become free. Once she achieved her independence, she realized that she did not need to rely on anyone else but herself for her survival. By refusing to be submissive, she traded her sanity for independence.

By absolutely forbidding her to work until she is well again he is imprisoning her and causing her depression. John has made her a prisoner not only in their home but also in their marriage. Her opinions are not taken into consideration she is not even allowed to t

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Approximate Word count = 1575
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels