NOTABLE WORKS REVIEW: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
NOTABLE WORKS
REVIEW: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Reviewed by Brooklyn Ann Butler.
New England Magazine, National Library of Medicine, and now public domain.
Trigger Warning: This review addresses mental health.
Synopsis: A woman with postpartum depression is diagnosed with hysteria by her physician husband. He takes her to a house in the country and locks her in the attic as part of “the rest cure” a popular, traumatic treatment for women in the late 19th and early 20th century. Having no other stimulus, the author tries to “read” the wallpaper in the room and spirals into madness. The narrator’s justifications for her imprisonment by her physician husband lay out her inaccurate diagnosis, but later mentions of a baby reveal post-partum depression. As the narrator’s journal entries progress, her trauma deepens. It resonated with me being a woman who was misdiagnosed by therapists. I also had many instances where doctors wouldn’t listen to me. I feel that this review will remind readers that we still have a long way to go with women’s health (cis and trans), and lets them know that they are not alone.
The “Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a short story first published in 1892. Both psychological horror and gothic horror, the tale is a treatise of the horrors and wrongs of the “rest cure,” a treatment prescribed by physicians in the Victorian era all the way to the early 20th century. The “rest cure” was intended to treat hysteria, a diagnosis invented by Aristotle that was thrown on women, sick or healthy, who behaved in any way that men in her life didn’t like. The treatment removed all stimuli from a woman, forbidding her to read, write, socialize, or even move around too much. It often included solitary confinement. Gilman herself was prescribed the “rest cure,” though she was allowed “but two hours’ intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live.” This led to a near mental breakdown but inspired “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Unlike Gilman, the woman in the story was married to a physician. He kept her isolated in an attic room with nothing to look at but some ugly yellow wallpaper. Her husband, first described as loving and caring, laughs at her objections. Her faith in him is so strong at first that she believes that this room with barred windows, metal rings in the walls, and a bed nailed to the floor was a nursery turned exercise room, rather than a prison. With no other stimulation, the woman journals in secret and begins to “read” the patterns in the wallpaper. Each entry in her journal spirals deeper into madness until she, believing a woman is trapped in the wallpaper, tears it up to free her, and then believes herself to be that woman. There are many lenses through which to read this story, but this review will focus on the lens of cis-women’s healthcare. The story infuriated a few physicians but resonated with countless women who’d experienced the trauma of the “rest cure.” But some physicians listened, and it may have even contributed to the treatment falling out of favor. However, that didn’t mean healthcare for cis-women magically improved overnight. Cross-stitches, memes, and art pieces depict a tombstone with the epitaph, “Her Labs Were Fine” are all over the internet, accompanied by medical horror stories of doctors who refuse to listen. Too often, sexist assumptions are made and weight-loss is touted as a cure-all. Many doctors will refuse to do tubal ligations or hysterectomies without a husband’s permission. Even if the woman isn’t married. The “husband-stitch” is still a thing. In my youth, depression was the trending diagnosis. I myself was misdiagnosed when I actually had PTSD. Other neurodivergent conditions such as autism and ADHD in girls wasn’t recognized back then, so they too got the depression label. Improvements have been made, but not enough. The word “hysterical” is still bandied about. While Gilman held some problematic beliefs, “The Yellow Wallpaper” remains a testament to the fact that sexism still exists when it comes to women’s health. It continues to resonate with every woman whose doctors have refused to listen to her about her own mind and body.
Bio: Formerly an auto-mechanic, Brooklyn Ann thrives on writing heavy metal romance, urban fantasy, and horror romance stories that give representation and happy endings to outcasts, hence her tagline: love for the broken and strange. Under the pen name, Brooklyn Ann Butler, she writes horror with feminist themes. She’s a member of the HWA and is represented by the Knight Agency She lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with her gamer son, rockstar/IT Guy boyfriend, four cats, project cars, an extensive book collection, and miscellaneous horror memorabilia. She can be found online at https://brooklynannauthor.com as well as on most social sites.
The HWA Mental Health Initiative Charter is HERE.
