A Feminist Reading of the Yellow Wallpaper

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An Incorrect Diagnosis?

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman, depicts the progression of the narrator's mental affliction from the outset person perspective of her journal. The narrator's identity isn't revealed in The Yellow Wallpaper, simply she tin can be identified as a women with a mental affliction. John, the narrator'due south md husband, describes her mental illness as "temporary nervous depression" only she feels her illness is more serious. Despite the narrator'due south pleas, that she has a more serious affliction, John refuses to change his form of treatment.

John's Diagnosis

In The Yellowish Wallpaper the narrator suggests that she believes that John's diagnosis of her was incorrect. She asks, "If a physician of high standing, and one'south own husband, assures friends and relatives that at that place is actually zilch the thing with one but temporary nervous low- a slight hysterical trend- what is 1 to exercise?" Here the narrator suggests that her illness is more serious than "temporary nervous low", merely she feels powerless considering of John's public diagnosis.

Upon reading The Yellow Wallpaper, many believe that John misdiagnosed the narrator. In Paula Treichler'southward article Escaping the Judgement: Diagnosis and Soapbox in The Xanthous Wallpaper, Treichler argues that John's diagnosis serves a restraint on the narrator's beliefs. Treichler says, "Once pronounced, and reinforced by the second opinion of the narrator's brother, this diagnosis not only names reality but also has considerable power over what that reality has to be: it dictates the narrator's removal to the 'ancestral halls' where the story is fix and generates a medical therapeutic regimen that includes physical isolation, 'phosphates and phosphites', air, and rest."

The narrator's diagnosis was imposed upon her by her hubby John, and verified by her blood brother; it is noteworthy that these ii figures are both men. Treichler argues that the narrator'due south diagnosis is a metaphor for man's will being imposed upon women'due south soapbox. Treichler says, "The diagnostic language of the doc is coupled with the paternalistic language of the husband to create a formidable assortment of controls over her behavior."

Women'south Handling

According to Treichler's commodity Escaping the Judgement: Diagnosis and Discourse in The Yellow Wallpaper, John'south diagnosis and handling of the narrator serve to control her speech. Treichler says, "Because she does non feel free to speak truthfully 'to a living soul' she confides her thoughts to a journal- 'dead paper'- instead." Instead of speaking freely to her husband John, that she believes her status is more serious than temporary nervous depression, she confides these personal thoughts to her private periodical. As function of the narrator'south regimen she is prevented from speaking about the severity of her illness. When the narrator suggests that she is not mentally improve John says,"My darling, I beg of yous, for my sake and for our child'south sake, likewise equally for your own, that y'all will never for 1 instant allow that idea enter your mind"(Gilman). John discourages the narrator from speaking and thinking of her illness. As a adult female the narrator is powerless over her condition. Treichler says, "I use 'diagnosis,' and so as a metaphor for the vocalisation of medicine or science that speaks to define a women'south condition." In the tardily 1800s, when The Yellowish Wallpaper takes place, men controlled the institutions of scientific discipline and medicine. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the male influences of John, and the narrator's brother dictate her diagnosis and situation.

According to Laura Vergona in her web log titled Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper Through the Psychoanalysis and Feminist Lens, "Women have been restrained by the prototype that women are helpless, and that men know what is ultimately all-time for them." This is absolutely true in the case of The Yellow Wallpaper. John doesn't requite the narrator any control over the treatment of her illness. When the narrator suggests that John remove the yellowish wallpaper in her room because it makes her feel uncomfortable, John refuses. The narrator writes, "At first he meant to repaper the room, only afterwards he said that I was letting it go the better of me, and that nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies." The wallpaper makes the narrator feel uncomfortable, but as a male authority figure John has the last say over the wallpaper. John'southward handling and diagnosis may have worsened the narrator'due south condition. Vergona believes that John'southward treatment of the narrator, including his refusal to remove the yellow agitated the narrator's mental illness. Vergona says, "Instead of working with her towards getting ameliorate, he isolated her equally if she needed to be alone to get amend," Vergona continues, "I believe that being solitary was the problem for her."

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Tearing The Yellow Wallpaper

While reading The Yellow Wallpaper it becomes apparent that John's treatment of the narrator is not working. The narrator's writing becomes progressively more erratic, as she becomes more obsessed with the yellow wallpaper. The narrator describes the yellow wallpaper like a painting, she writes "Looked at in ane way each breadth stands solitary, the bloated curves and flourishes, a kind of 'debased Romanesque' with delirium tremens- go waddling upwardly and downwards in isolated columns of fatuity"(Gilman). Toward the end of the story the narrator becomes convinced that there is a women trapped inside of the wall paper. The narrator writes, "Through watching so much at dark, when it changes and so, I accept finally constitute out. The forepart pattern does move - and no wonder! The woman backside shakes it." At the end of The Xanthous Wallpaper, the narrator tears the yellowish wallpaper from the walls.

According to Vergona'southward analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator's solitary state leads her to insanity. Vergona says, "She sees figures in the wallpaper, and begins to think nearly all of the other women who are imprisoned just equally she is." Vergona argues that the narrator's imprisoned country every bit a woman leads to her to insanity and ultimately tearing down the wallpaper.

Co-ordinate to Treichler's article Escaping the Sentence: Diagnosis and Discourse in The Yellow Wallpaper, the yellow wallpaper is a metaphor for women'southward speech. According to Treichler when the narrator tears down the yellow wallpaper and frees the imaginary women behind the paper, she metaphorically reveals a new vision of women'south speech. Treichler says, "Every bit she steps over the patriarchal body, she leaves the authoritative vox of diagnosis in slaughter-house at her anxiety. Forsaking 'women's linguistic communication' forever, her new fashion of speaking- an unlawful language- escapes 'the judgement' imposed past patriarchy." Afterward tearing downwards the wallpaper and stepping over John's unconscious body the narrator is able to speak freely of her diagnosis and illness.

I agree with both interpretations of Gilman'southward piece of work. John ignored the narrator's pleas for a more than serious diagnosis. John dismissed the narrator's concerns as women'south speech. Therefore the narrator's illness, left untreated, progressed until she had a breakdown, and tore down the wallpaper. In this sense, The Yellow Wallpaper serves as an allegory equally to the importance of taking women's speech seriously.

Citations

Treichler, Paula A. "Escaping the Sentence: Diagnosis and Soapbox in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 3, no. one/ii, 1984, pp. 61–77. JSTOR, JSTOR

Vergona, Laura. "Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper through the Psychoanalysis and Feminist Lens ." The Xanthous Wallpaper, Weebly, xv Mar. 2014

© 2018 Ryan Leighton

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Source: https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Yellow-Wallpaper-A-Womens-Diagnosis

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