The Yellow Wallpaper A Study of Insanity
For the women in the twentieth century today, who have more freedom than before and have not experienced the depressive life that Gilman lived from1860 to 1935, it is difficult to understand Gilman's situation and understand the significance of "The Yellow Wallpaper". Gilman's original purpose of writing the story was to have gained personal satisfaction if Dr. S. Weir Mitchell might change his treatment after reading the story. However, as Ann L. Jane suggests, "The Yellow Wallpaper" is "the best crafted of her fiction: a genuine literary piece...the most directly, obviously, self-consciously autobiographical of all her stories" (Introduction xvi). More importantly, Gilman says in her article in The Forerunner, "It was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked" (20). Therefore, "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a revelation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's own emotions. When the story first came out in 1892 the critics considered "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a portrayal of female insanity rather than a story that reveals an aspect of society. In The Transcript, a physician from Boston wrote, "Such a story ought not to be written...it was enough to drive anyone mad to read it" (Gilman
After being treated for a month Gilman was sent home and was told to "live as domestic a life as possible...and never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live"(Lane, To Herland 121). Having a strong love for her work and being a free thinker and writer, Gilman would naturally consider this way of treatment a cruel punishment. In her diary she wrote, "I went home, followed those directions rigidly for a month and came perilously near to losing my mind" (Lane, To Herland 121). Ceplair, Larry. "The Early Years." Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Non-fiction Reader. New York: Columbia UP, 1991. 5-19. Berkin, Ruth Carol. "Self-Images: Childhood and Adolescence." Critical Essays on Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Ed. Joanne Karpinski. New York: G.K. Hall, 1992. Karpinski, Joanne B. Introduction. Critical Essays on Charlotte Perkins Gilman. New York: G.K. Hall, 1992.
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Approximate Word count = 1513
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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