Such isolated atmosphere and forced solitary confinement eventually envelops the narrator in her insanity. While receiving conflicting information from the narrator herself, the reader becomes aware of the narrator's decline in mental health. In Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator’s skewed perceptions of her surroundings and mental state, along with her inconsistent narration, reflects her incomprehension of the reality of her declining mental health leaving the audience left in a similar state of confusion. The narrator and her physician husband, John, rent a mansion for the summer so she may recuperate from what is described as a nervous condition. Although the narrator does not believe that she is actually ill, John is convinced that she is suffering from a “temporary nervous depression” (Gillman 12), and prescribes rest and isolation as her treatment.
The main character suffers from depression. Her husband wants to help with her illness, but only helps make her worse by preventing her from enjoying what she loves the most. "There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write words. "(Gilman,Charlotte) John does not think that his wife should write, rather he wants her to rest everyday in the room with yellow wallpaper. The wallpaper however begins to take a toll on the woman’s life.
True to George’s original estimation, he will go through his life alone. Another character who suffers from loneliness is Curley’s wife. It is her sexuality that causes her loneliness. All the men on the ranch try to avoid her because they believe that women are always the cause of trouble. She longs to have someone to talk to, yet she gets restricted by her brutish husband.
When they arrive, she feels that there is something “queer” about the estate. She even goes further to say that the house is haunted and wonders why it was unoccupied for so long. Her husband, John, thinks that the summer home will do her some good, because she is suffering from temporary nervous depression. John honestly does not think that anything is wrong with her and has convinced others of the same. The wife is forbidden to write or leave the house, and is confined to her bedroom most of the day.
The yellowish color is affiliated with the weakness, and the powerlessness that she is feeling. The actual pattern of the wallpaper at first symbolizes the twists and winds of society and the difficulties of fitting in and following the rules. Eventually, once Jane studies the pattern and finds the order, she believes she understands it’s meaning. As the nights go on and she continues to study the paper, she finds that the pattern is like a prison, trapping everything inside it. She reflects her feelings of imprisonment by her husband, onto how she interprets the wallpaper.
Jane would write and enjoy writing, but her husband, John, would tell her that it doesn’t do her any good. She starts to act more mentally-ill once she realizes that will be her ticket to freedom. Jane, the narrator of the story, is repressed mentally, physically, and emotionally. Jane is a mentally repressed individual. During this time period women aren’t allowed to express their thoughts and are taught to keep them to themselves.
In the novel, Zeena tells Ethan about her pain; "[Zeena] got [her] shooting pains so bad that [she went] over to Bettsbridge to spend the night…”(78). If Zeena’s sickness were only in her mind, to get attention, it would not be logical for her to leave to find help. However, the first thing Ethan thinks of when he hears of her pain is not his sympathy for her, but the financial burden the the trip to a new a doctor will cost him. Furthermore, when Ethan goes into their bedroom, the narrator states that Ethan found “[Zeena’s] mouth slightly open, her false teeth in a tumbler by the bed…” (88). While the reason is not known, it is not normal for a healthy middle-aged woman to lose her teeth, therefore it must have been her sickness.
John is a physician and believes that his wife is only suffering from a “temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency” (70) and due to this condition she should obtain plenty of rest, air and exercise but absolutely no work. The narrator is a writer that is forbidden to write because her husband believes that any form of society or stimulus could cause her condition to deteriorate further. As the story continue you beginning to understand the relationship between the narrator and her husband John. John seems to be very controlling and throughout the story berates his wife, while treating her like a small child that needs caring for. Every attempt that is made by the narrator to express her concerns is met with opposition or disregard.
It is then repeatedly used but often has a damaging effect on the person. This can be identified as being deliberate or intentional behaviour that has a clear, definite or probably negative effect. People are more likely to have a self-defeating or destructive manner when either there are threats made to their egos or when they have low self-esteem. When people have low self-esteem they are more likely to be susceptible to having depression, anxiety and emotional distress, which are problems that are usually directly related to low self-appraisal. There are many examples of self-defeating behaviours like, being needy, guilty, envious, angry, obsessive, rebellious, addictions, eating disorders, procrastination, controlling, gossiping, self-doubt and depression.
The narrator continues to lose her willpower and strength. She tries to talk reasonably to her husband about visiting her relatives, but breaks down and starts crying during the conversation. Seeing that he was not going to let her leave the vacation home, she continues to watch the wallpaper. Within the pattern, the shape of a woman creeping is becoming clearer. The narrator wishes she could leave.