Misdiagnosis In The Yellow Wallpaper

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The mind seems to develop a world of its own when it is shielded from the physical world. According to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, women who undergo mental disorders are commonly disregarded and misdiagnosed. “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary depression…” the narrator states (p.233). The narrator makes reference to Weir’s treatment of simple rest and restriction from usual daily activities. This kind of treatment eventually turned horrific, as the narrator’s mental state begins to quickly decline over the course of three months. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author uses her own poor treatment to emphasize a…show more content…
The misdiagnosis of women simply because of their gender was a serious problem during Gilman’s time, and sociologically the story successfully presented that issue. Gilman effectively conveyed that mental instability can be endured by both men and women. In addition, Gilman reflects her own misdiagnosis through the narrator’s suffering to show her personal struggle from this. Moreover, the narrator’s inferiority to her husband caused her voice to be unheard, thus causing her mental state to decline. The narrator’s breach of insanity in the end expresses that she had nowhere else to turn to free her creative mind from the overbearing controls of her husband. Her options were narrow, and her constant confinement led her mind to take matters into its own hands. Although the narrator’s breakthrough was horrific, Gilman incorporated the thought that shielding women from the outside world of humanity was more harmful than helpful. A lack of individuality was a major crisis that was going on in the story and in Gilman’s day to day life during her treatment. The author painted a picture of internal suffrage using the story as her canvas to expose
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