Postpartum Depression In The Yellow Wallpaper

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In The Yellow Wallpaper, by Gilman, the narrator is most likely in a state of postpartum depression and lacking credibility to her private writings. Due to her mental illness, it is hard to take what she says at face value, as readers. The narrator has a child with her husband, John; she is not permitted to see due to her illness. She states how being with the baby makes her nervous; this implies the narrator is not stable enough to take care of her child. In the short story, the narrator expresses her dislike the wallpaper in the bedroom of their summer home. During the time of her stay, she becomes fixated over the wallpapers characteristics. The narrator writes about seeing the wallpaper move and change patterns in her journal. This obsession consumes her. …show more content…
As a reader, it can be assumed that she has begun a state of postpartum depression as the short story begins. “Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that can affect women after childbirth. Mothers with postpartum depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that may make it difficult for them to complete daily care activities for themselves or for others.” (Postpartum Depression Facts). The symptoms of postpartum depression are seen in the narrator’s journal, such as; worrying or feeling overly anxious, mood swings, and withdrawing from family and friends. Becoming nervous around the baby, seeing women “creep”, not letting her husband in the room so she could finish freeing the woman she believed was stuck in the wallpaper, could be seen as the result of the narrator’s postpartum depression (Gilman 655-666). After knowing what the narrator is going through throughout this time, it is easy for readers to believe that her mental illness damages her

Postpartum Depression In The Yellow Wallpaper

pregnant mothers can develop a mental health condition known as postpartum depression. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist has a mild feeling of depression after childbirth, and her husband John, a physician, mistreats her and believes that a change of scenery and employing the rest of the cure would improve her mental health. Subsequently, her mental health deteriorated and she ripped off the yellow wallpaper in the house. During this decline in her mental state, she…

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Postpartum Depression In The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Hallucinations postpartum are more rare than regular hallucinations, they can develop several weeks after the baby is born and can include seeing and hearing. In the short story, “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a young woman is diagnosed with severe mental illness and suffers from her husband's understanding and trust. The patient has postpartum depression because of the baby she had, a nervous disorder from the suspicion that her husband, and hallucinations as well. She starts to…

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An Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

reason what is known as postpartum depression today was known as hysteria in the late 19th century. Postpartum depression is depression suffered by a mother after birth, while hysteria is exaggerated or uncontrolled emotions. Compared to how women are treated now and how they were treated back then it was worse in the late 19th century. Women were treated as insane or unworthy. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman…

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Yellow Wallpaper Mental Health

In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jane, a woman admitted to a mental institution, struggles with her depression in a hostile environment during an unaccepting era. Throughout the story, Jane must resist her urge to leave the room she has been placed in for rest, and ignore the inner struggle that the wallpaper in the room causes for her. Eventually, the wallpaper becomes the only thing anchoring her to reality. Charlotte Perkins Gilman also endeavored through depression and rest…

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Yellow Wallpaper

The wife in the yellow wallpaper is middle-aged and has just given birth to her first child. Forced to live in a nice home, she is secluded from all its pleasures and her child. She is a well-educated and aspiring writer who is struggling with more than just postpartum depression. The symptoms of postpartum depression match the client's case perfectly, such as mood swings, crying, appetite problems, and anxiety (Depression Information Postpartum from the Mayo Clinic by Mayo Clinic Staff). She also…

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Papers: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Realistic Story

Antonio Crespo 5-26-2013 Per.2 Mrs. Coleman The Yellow Wallpaper Very commonly a person is labeled insane due to behavior from the outcome of loneliness as well as depression. Therefore, in the case of the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a realistic story. The short story shows how not socializing, being excluded from the outside world and manipulation can increase Postpartum Depression. This moral makes the story realistic because cases similar to this occur…

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A Rose For Emily Postpartum Depression

experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." While these are truly words to live by, victims of depression, a condition in which a person becomes withdrawn and emotionally inactive, may find this difficult to do. This is presented in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. “A Rose for Emily” depicts the story of Emily Grierson, a stubborn woman who is a burden to the people of her small, southern…

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Character Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper

feigned.” Although some, fictional stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” are tragically realistic for women of the time period. There is little difference between Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the main character of, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Gilman suffered from a nervous condition, comparable to the one of the narrator. While the symptoms of the writer and the imaginy woman are similar, they are not identical. To aid understanding of postpartum depression, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote a fictional story…

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Yellow Wallpaper Identity

“The Yellow Wallpaper” “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an exaggerated story of her own personal experiences. A woman, who has just given birth, starts to suffer from postpartum depression. The woman’s husband, John, seems to think her source of treatment should be the rest cure in hopes to get his wife acting normal again. Many readers claim that this short story is about a woman who has a dangerous course of treatment for treating her postpartum depression. However…

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The Yellow Wallpaper

Madness “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1899 details the story of a young woman’s descent into madness, showing clearly the symptoms that are attributed to mental breakdowns. There are many different psychological issues present within the story, including the narrator’s condition of “nerves” and the very real issue of postpartum depression, and as a result of both of these issues not being treated in the manner that is needed in order to resolve these afflictions, the narrator…

Words 993 - Pages 4