Doctor Knows Best

A detailed Summary of Doctor Knows Best

Often human illness calls for medical attention to acquire both soundness of body and mind. Opinions from medical professionals are sought after by those individuals seeking reassurance and peace of mind in knowing they will receive the best possible treatment. In her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman presents a situation where a respected professional, medical opinion contradicts those thoughts and desires of the patient. The "wife," and narrator, in the story suffers a long-drawn depression following the birth of her daughter. In an attempt to remedy her ailment, the character "John," a physician as well as the narrator's husband, prescribes rest and isolation as the cure for his wife's mental illness. It is apparent by the end of the story that such treatment not only failed to cure his wife's disorder, but further intensified her unstable condition. Many scholars offer other underlying explanations in exploring the narrator's sickness. Leslie Fishbein, in her review To Herland and Beyond: The Life and Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, points out that the narrator's ailment is credited to "a domestic role that ill fit her character and talents" (1116). On the other hand, i

Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Studies in Short Fiction 31 (1994) : 39-44.

With such disregard for the narrator's feelings, John compels her to isolation that further weakens her mental condition as she notices various trends amongst the wallpaper. She is confined, for the most part, to a "big, airy room... with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore" (405). The narrator becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, which Gilman describes as "repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering

The narrator makes excuses that not only contradict her own feelings, but comply with the wishes of her husband as well. Gilman uses such excuses to emphasize the character's insecurities and lack of self-confidence. The narrator uses the country home to excuse her own ideas in light of her husband. "So I will let it alone and talk about the house. The most beautiful place!" (404). In disagreeing with the manner in which John treats her, the narrator turns to her mental disorder as a reason for her sensitivity. "I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I think it is due to this nervous condition" (404). She places the blame on herself and her prescribed medicine for suppressing what she feels would bring her to proper health. "...So I take pains to control myself- before

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Approximate Word count = 2227
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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Doctor Knows Best

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