The Yellow Wallpaper is a story by feminist writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman first published in 1892. The story describes the dramatic life experiences and obsessions of a young woman. Her husband John is a physician. He prescribes treatment for her postpartum depression. A stay in an empty, poorly furnished room in an old colonial mansion in the countryside.
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John rents the mansion to accommodate his wife in peace. His sister Jennie visits her from time to time to check that the woman is resting. It means she remains passive and does not touch a pen and paper. The story was written after Charlotte Gilman herself became a hostage to a similar situation. After the birth of her daughter, her husband strongly recommended that she had to see Dr. Mitchell, who prescribed her the “rest cure“, which was extremely popular at the time.
The essence was that a woman had to stay at home and limit herself from any activities. Women had very few rights in society in the early 20th century. Many educated middle-class women felt oppressed observing the limits imposed on them. They were suppressed by husbands and other men. Their desire to go beyond these limits resulted in a depressive or hysterical state. Recovery meant a return to a submissive state. Women went back to obeying the will of a doctor or husband. The horror of the situation was that a male’s voice dictated to the heroine how to perceive reality. Her husband decided what she has to feel too. Critics point out that the real prototype of John was not Dr. Mitchell, but Gilman’s husband.