Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote the novel to make the readers think about the social roles they present. She wanted to draw attention to women’s oppression. The author is determined to prevent people from becoming insane under such pressure. She aims to arise impatience and courage.
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The motive for writing the story intrigues all the readers a lot. The novel was a very brave one at the time. Charlotte Perkins Gilman published an article Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper to answer this question. A monthly magazine, The Forerunner, printed it in 1909. She reveals her suffering from “a severe and continuous nervous breakdown” for some years. The best doctor in the county prescribed her the rest cure. It wasn’t helpful for her recovery. She faced neglect and wrong treatment as well as the heroine of her novel. The author marks that after returning to work her condition improved.
One of her primary goals is rethinking a women’s role in American society. At the end of the 19th century, it was a sensitive topic. The author highlights the need to have a social life apart from family and home. She shows her impatience against the pressure put by patriarchy. The main character’s mental health decline is a protest against women’s abuse in society.
The writer intends to “save people from being driven crazy” under restrictions. She wants to show the hazard even in family ties. The author focuses on the harm of the patriarchy mindset in family ties and medicine. Gilman noticed the results of her publishing. She mentions a doctor who has changed his treatment of a mental illness after reading The Yellow Wallpaper.