Tomo Saito
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
3 December 2014
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
3 December 2014
Insanity From Isolation
The word “isolation” can easily create an image that most of us can envision: sad, lonely, trapped, nobody to rely on, and so on. This happens in many novels, poems, and also in real life. Charlotte Perkins Gilman expresses the idea of isolation and what it could lead to in the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The story is read in the perspective of a woman in a state of isolation. This is sort of like a diary; it tells what the narrator does in her everyday life in great detail. The author argues that many individuals are forced into isolation because of the different traits that the individuals possessed; it could be things like race, culture, status, etc. that leads into factors for their isolation from others. This action of isolation would lead to insanity, which is clearly shown in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” it is shown that the narrator of this short story has a condition of “nervous depression” (1). Because of her condition, her husband, John, has placed her in “[a] colonial mansion, a hereditary estate” (1). The narrator was “absolutely forbidden to ‘work’,” (1) and write. She was remote from her normal lifestyle. She basically spent all her time in her room where there was a single bed and window. She had no particular activities to do, so she started to observe the “Yellow Wallpaper.” Since she had no excitement in her lifestyle because she was forbidden to do many things, she looked at the wallpaper because this was the only thing she could enjoy. She did not have many interactions with people or with her husband, because John was busy with his work as a physician. In short, she was isolated from many things.
She was isolated from her husband, friends, entertainment, her own identity, etc. This was all for the pursuit so that the narrator would be cured and be normal again. This was what her husband believed to be the cure. There might have been good intentions from her husband, but these actions led to huge consequences.
After she carefully observed the wallpaper’s patterns and such, she started to hallucinate. She saw “[a] faint figure behind [that] seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out” (5). These hallucinations evolved into bigger problems where she not only saw images, but she took actions as well. Because she believed a woman existed in the wallpaper, she wanted to get the woman out of the wallpaper. So, “[she] pulled and [the woman] shook, [she] shook and [the woman] pulled, and before morning [she] had peeled off yards of that paper” (8). At this point, it clearly portrays that the narrator is not receiving her identity back; she is not her usual self—a wife and mother. In the end, she was in a deep stage of hallucination, and believed that she herself is the trapped woman. Her husband found her “creep smoothly on the floor, and [her] shoulder just fits in that long smooch around the wall” (9). Her actions proves her madness from isolation.
She was isolated from her husband, friends, entertainment, her own identity, etc. This was all for the pursuit so that the narrator would be cured and be normal again. This was what her husband believed to be the cure. There might have been good intentions from her husband, but these actions led to huge consequences.
After she carefully observed the wallpaper’s patterns and such, she started to hallucinate. She saw “[a] faint figure behind [that] seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out” (5). These hallucinations evolved into bigger problems where she not only saw images, but she took actions as well. Because she believed a woman existed in the wallpaper, she wanted to get the woman out of the wallpaper. So, “[she] pulled and [the woman] shook, [she] shook and [the woman] pulled, and before morning [she] had peeled off yards of that paper” (8). At this point, it clearly portrays that the narrator is not receiving her identity back; she is not her usual self—a wife and mother. In the end, she was in a deep stage of hallucination, and believed that she herself is the trapped woman. Her husband found her “creep smoothly on the floor, and [her] shoulder just fits in that long smooch around the wall” (9). Her actions proves her madness from isolation.
From this short story, Gilman wanted to produce change in our society. Believe it or not, there are many isolations that happened and are still currently happening. There used to be many mental institutions where individuals like the narrator in this story would go to get cured. This is another type of isolation. The individuals would be away from their friends, families, and their lifestyle they experienced before. It has been proven that isolation does not help mental illnesses at all, it just makes the situation much worse. Because of these information, changes occurred. There are now fewer mental institutions. In 1955, there were 558,239 severely mentally ill patients in the nation's public psychiatric hospitals. In 1994, this number had been reduced to 486,620 patients ("Deinstitutionalization"). In present day, there is only 413 Non-federal Psychiatric Hospitals ("Fast Facts"). So, it is certain that changes are occurring. Also, even in high schools, students with mental illnesses used to be in a class with only other students with mental illnesses. In the present, students with mental illnesses sometimes experience classes with regular students. This helps them to adapt to the normal lifestyle. It is clear that changes are occurring little by little. Gilman wanted to spread the awareness of the problems that isolation could arise.
Gilman is clearly a voice for all people that are suffering from not just only mental illnesses, but anyone who is in a state of isolation. This message applies to the whole world, and led to innovations. Isolation do lead to people losing their character, which is expressed greatly from “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
Gilman is clearly a voice for all people that are suffering from not just only mental illnesses, but anyone who is in a state of isolation. This message applies to the whole world, and led to innovations. Isolation do lead to people losing their character, which is expressed greatly from “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
Audio for "The Yellow Wallpaper."
Works Cited
"Brewer Signs Bill on Use of School Isolation Rooms." Arizona Capitol Times. N.p., 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2013/04/04/arizona-gov-jan-brewer-signs-bill-on-school-isolation-rooms/>.
"Charlotte Perkins Gilman." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.biography.com/people/charlotte-perkins-gilman-9311669#suicide>.
"Deinstitutionalization: A Psychiatric "Titanic." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/asylums/special/excerpt.html>.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/isolation>.
"Fast Facts on US Hospitals." Fast Facts on US Hospitals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <http://www.aha.org/research/rc/stat-studies/fast-facts.shtml>.
"Talk:THE YELLOW WALLPAPER." - UrsinusWiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://wiki.ursinus.edu/index.php/Talk%3ATHE_YELLOW_WALLPAPER>.
"The Yellow Wallpaper (audiobook)." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_vM37z8iek>.
"The Yellow Wallpaper - Totallysevere - Spoonflower." Spoonflower. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/59987>.
"Charlotte Perkins Gilman." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.biography.com/people/charlotte-perkins-gilman-9311669#suicide>.
"Deinstitutionalization: A Psychiatric "Titanic." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/asylums/special/excerpt.html>.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/isolation>.
"Fast Facts on US Hospitals." Fast Facts on US Hospitals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <http://www.aha.org/research/rc/stat-studies/fast-facts.shtml>.
"Talk:THE YELLOW WALLPAPER." - UrsinusWiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://wiki.ursinus.edu/index.php/Talk%3ATHE_YELLOW_WALLPAPER>.
"The Yellow Wallpaper (audiobook)." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_vM37z8iek>.
"The Yellow Wallpaper - Totallysevere - Spoonflower." Spoonflower. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/59987>.