Matis 1 Aaron Matis Professor Peter Schmidt Short Story in America 4 October 2013 Women in the Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a renowned female writer and an avid women's rights activist, experienced the repercussions of male-dominated nineteenth century experimental psychology firsthand. Following the birth of her daughter Katherine in 1885, Gilman began to suffer from depression, possibly post-partum. After two years of mental anxiety and nervous breakdowns, Gilman was admitted to a Philadelphia sanitarium in order to convalesce by means of "The Rest Cure". The cure was developed by Doctor S. Weir Mitchell, a prominent psychologist who aimed to cure neurasthenics, women described as "nervous…who, as a rule, are thin and lack blood" (Martin, “The Rest Cure Revisited”). The Rest Cure was comprised of four individual components: solitary confinement, rest, dietary restrictions, and electroshock therapy. Gilman highlights the counterproductive nature of The Rest Cure in her most famous work, "The Yellow Wallpaper". Gilman wrote the semi-autobiographical story following her mentally grueling experience with the treatment. Interpretations of Gilman’s story range from women’s rights propaganda to stress-relief writing, psychological whistleblowing to means of monetary funding. These various interpretations suggest that “The Yellow Wallpaper”, with Gilman’s unique voice, is an iconic story that may serve to consummate a grand overarching theme: the role, or lack thereof, of the woman in nineteenth century America. As a child, Gilman’s domestic life consisted of numerous familial tragedies. Gilman’s mother, Mary Ann Fitch Westcott, experienced the death of two of her children, both at very young ages. She was then advised by her doctor to no longer have children at the risk of losing her own life in
Matis 2 the birthing process. Frederick Perkins, Westcott’s husband, left shortly after the death of their second child. In response to the losses of her children and her husband’s departure, Westcott refused to display any signs of affection toward Gilman from a very young age. It can be assumed that Westcott’s lack of motherly care either hardened Gilman into the independent, strong-willed writer she later became or catalyzed Gilman’s later struggles with mental anxiety and depression (Gilman 95). The writing style of Charlotte Perkins Gilman may not find it’s nexus solely in the struggles she faced during her childhood. Gilman may have drawn inspiration from her great-aunt, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe authored the epochal, polarizing novelUncle Tom’s Cabin,which is considered to be one of the driving forces behind the inception of the American Civil War. Not unlikeUncle Tom’s Cabin, “The Yellow Wallpaper” evoked polar reactions from readers during the nineteenth century and continues to have the same effects on readers today.
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