Yellow Wallpaper Identity

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“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, readers can also see this short story as a representation of how important identity is. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the protagonist’s projection of an imaginary woman represents pieces of her identity and the suppressing conflicts she is experiencing, which leads her to a complete mental breakdown. When the protagonist first starts to experience depression after having a baby, her husband John decides her course of treatment should be the rest cure. John takes his wife to a rented mansion during a summer away from the city in hopes that his wife will recover from her illness. He limits his wife to a very strict schedule and directs …show more content…
At one point in the story, John tries to convince her that she is getting better. He states, “You are gaining flesh and color, your appetite is better, I feel really much easier about you.” (Gilman 798). However, the protagonist insists that she has not gained a pound, and that her appetite is worse when he is away from home. John then goes onto say, “Bless her little heart! She shall be as sick as she pleases.” (Gilman 798). John is referring that the protagonist is acting similar to a child. When he says “sick as she pleases”, he is reflecting on how children make up illnesses when trying to get out of certain things. John treating the protagonist like a child and misdiagnosing her is the cause of her isolation and a root of her complete mental
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