Introduction
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the reader is introduced to John’s wife, who is suffering from an undisclosed mental illness. Despite the nature of her condition, the narrator is in a position to think deeper and appreciate that her condition is worse than depression. By examining her reactions and feelings, it is easier to acknowledge that the patient could have puerperal psychosis.
Although it is a rare condition, medical professionals report it in only a small percentage of women who have gone through childbirth. John’s role in the story appears inadequate and oppressive to the narrator. The fact that John does not consider the condition serious depicts the unnoticed challenges many women go through in their lives. The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” has puerperal psychosis.
Background Information
Maternal health remains a commonly studied and analyzed subfield in medical practice. Specialists in the sector monitor women during, after, and even before birth to protect their lives and those of their unborn babies. The progress made in healthcare is remarkable and capable of supporting the changing demands of these critical consumers of maternal services.
Unfortunately, some conditions remain problematic for some women who lack adequate support or encounter diverse difficulties after childbirth. For example, Miranda and Helmita indicate that childbirth is one of the risk factors for various mental illnesses, such as depression (23). In extreme cases, advanced signs and symptoms tend to occur in some women after birth. For many years, medical professionals have identified puerperal psychosis as one of the conditions capable of triggering anxiety.
The provision of high-quality and timely support has the potential to improve the prognosis associated with the condition. For instance, Manzoor et al. observed that most of the affected mothers would recover from the condition within 2-3 months (1062). However, the absence of proper care could trigger suicidal thoughts.
In advanced cases, some of the victims tend to have higher chances of harming themselves and their infants (Miranda and Helmita 24). Consequently, past analysts and researchers have been interested in the best approaches to provide personalized support to the affected individuals. Such an approach remains essential since some affected women would start expressing unexpected frustrations.
Recent studies have presented additional insights regarding the challenges and issues associated with the selected condition. For example, Rommel et al. observed that most affected people exhibited unexpectedly high rates of confusion and disorientation (33). Depersonalization and suicidal thoughts were common in some of the people who had the mental disorder. In extreme cases, Miranda and Helmita reported that hallucinations and mania could occur in some of the women (24). Such arguments present a strong case for monitoring and supporting patients with puerperal psychosis.
Detailed Analysis of “The Yellow Wallpaper”
In the studied short story, the author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, presents a woman whose husband diagnoses her with a serious mental illness. Since he considers the condition slight hysteria, John does not consider the importance of providing specialized support. This decision is informed by the idea that he does not think the condition could worsen (Gilman 11).
However, the reader realizes that the narrator remains troubled and unhappy. She acknowledges that her situation is dire, making it hard to focus on her personal goals. Because of this form of desperation, the character continues to struggle with her condition, hoping that one day she will become free.
Throughout the story, the reader is presented with a young woman who continues to reflect and examine her thoughts. She is convinced that her feelings are overwhelming and unreasonable. Nonetheless, she continuously judges herself and focuses on how it could disorient her experiences.
She becomes compassionate, questioning John’s intentions and ultimate aim (Gilman 26). The reader eventually realizes that the best cure her husband prefers might be of little or no help. Her isolation from the village could shed more light on her condition and how John does not want any disturbance.
The narrator’s plight in the short story could reflect the significant challenges women used to go through during the late 19th century. For instance, John appears to supervise and introduce conditions intended to support her condition; however, this form of supervision amounts to the loss of individuality and freedom. The narrator acknowledges that her husband remains insensitive and incapable of considering her situation. Being a physician, John compels the narrator to neglect any form of self-care and rely on medication for pain management (Gilman 35). Consequently, the narrator becomes exhausted and incapable of knowing what is best for her.
The events taking place in the story reveal that more women used to encounter physical, emotional, and mental challenges at the hands of their husbands during that time. The portrayal is a reflection of the significant challenges that affected their lives. The depiction shows conclusively that women were only treated as sexual individuals. They would have little or no voice in their respective patriarchal societies. The narration indicates that women were treated as personal possessions (Rommel et al. 33). This malpractice made it impossible for them to appreciate their positions or achieve their goals.
Following childbirth, the majority of women at the time would lack the much-needed support and care. Some would be compelled to follow the decisions of their family members or husbands. In the reported experience, it is evident that the narrator was pushed into a more profound depression.
Because of this kind of challenge, she chose to lock herself in a room. This decision appears to portray the imprisonment that more women were compelled to live in (Gilman 38). These experiences and events could explain why the narrator continued to experience more and more depression.
Based on these insights, it would be agreeable that women who remained caged and controlled before and after childbirth had higher chances of becoming traumatized. The analysis exposes the kind of treatment available to mothers who displayed any form of mental illness. Such malpractice was reflective of how gender inequality remained a significant challenge during the time and continues to disorient the experiences of more individuals today. By confining women in locked rooms and compelling them to get rid of their personalities, such victims would have higher chances of becoming depressed (Nadamala 169). Without additional support, more women would sink deeper into psychosis.
The absence of proper care, adequate support, and provision of personalized services is one of the predicaments many women experienced throughout the 19th century. During this period, more women were confined to their homes without contributing to decision-making. Most of the myths surrounding childbirth, menopause, and menstruation affected the statuses and experiences of such individuals. Compounded with postpartum depression, the chances of becoming more traumatized and eventually sinking into puerperal psychosis increased significantly.
Without adequate support, most of these women would become suicidal or invent their own ways of addressing their problems (Nadamala 169). This analysis could explain why the narrator in the selected short story chose to tear the paper off the wall. This kind of depiction presents an attempt to get rid of this personal bondage and be in a position to feel free. However, such an effort does very little to solve the narrator’s mental problems and challenges.
The mental challenges many women encounter in their lives are definitive of the aspects associated with patriarchal societies. Most individuals fail to recognize the abilities and rights of these members of society. The fact that they remain confined in their homes and are incapable of making personal decisions reflects the predicaments females experience in their lives.
After childbirth, these underprivileged citizens will experience a unique form of bondage that eventually contributes to the development of puerperal psychosis (Rommel et al. 36). The absence of proper diagnostic methods and personalized support mechanisms makes it impossible for most of the affected women to heal and become free in their respective families. These realities show conclusively that the narrator described in this story has puerperal psychosis.
Conclusion
The history of maternal health presents a unique case study that should inform a paradigm shift in the management of mental illnesses among women. In the studied text, the narrator describes the predicaments she goes through in her life and how the actions of her husband sink her deeper into depression. While John thinks that her wife is not experiencing something serious, the woman is troubled and becomes more disturbed. These descriptions show conclusively that most of the problems affecting women in their respective communities contributed significantly to their mental conditions. The analysis could explain why there is a need for all members of society to remain concerned and consider the best approaches to help all underserved populations.
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. SAGA Egmont, 2022.
Manzoor, Mohsin M., et al. “The Yellow Wallpaper: A Psychoanalytical Parallelism between Character and Author.” PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, vol. 19, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1059-1068.
Miranda, Cut R., and Helmita Helmita. “The Depressed Female Characters from their Intimidated Surrounding as Seen in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkin Gilman’s, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner’s, and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin.” Jurnal Ilmiah Langue and Parole, vol. 2, no. 2, 2019, pp. 20-25.
Nadamala, Bhagya S. “‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ By Charlotte Perkins Gilman as the Avant-Garde in Psychiatry.” International Journal of English Language, Literature and Translation Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, 2021, pp. 168-170.
Rommel, Anna-Sophie, et al. “Long-Term Outcome of Postpartum Psychosis: A Prospective Clinical Cohort Study in 106 Women.” International Journal of Bipolar Disorders, vol. 9, no. 1, 2021, pp. 31-40.