The Yellow Wallpaper Group at eNotes

The stigma of mental issues affects to the person who suffers them in...

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 22:02:43 PST

The stigma of mental issues affects to the person who suffers them in that Psychology (as a field) is not an actual medical science due to its lack of empirical and quantitative research, and due to its focus on qualitative and analytical research. Yet, if u think about this, a psychologist's qualitative approach far surpasses a psychiatrist's (who is a medical doctor) prescription-based treatments. A woman who suffers post-partum (as Brooke...

In reply to #4: Since the time period that "The Yellow Wallpaper" was...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:06:02 PST

In reply to #4: Since the time period that "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written, mental illness (including Post Partum depression) is now more widely accepted as being a true legitimate illness. It (Post Partum Depression) has be given attention in the national media, which generally leads to a greater acceptance. However, it should be noted that we have yet to really see Post Partum Depression play out on the big screen or the small...

In one of his novels, Dean Kootz has a character remark, "Perception is...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:15:31 PST

In one of his novels, Dean Kootz has a character remark, "Perception is reality." Such is the case with Gilman's character in "The Yellow Wallpaper." Because the wife/mother is confined to a room hideous to her with its cumbersome bed nailed to the floor and unsymmetrical, ugly wallpaper which is all she can contemplate, Gilman's character materializes her mental disturbances and repression into a woman imprisoned behind this...

There has long been a prevailing attitude that mental problems are,...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:03:44 PST

There has long been a prevailing attitude that mental problems are, indeed, "petulant fits" as cadena has so well put; that somehow mental illiness is simply a weakness of character. This perception of weakness is what has given people a stigma as mentioned previously. The patronizing tone of John, the husband of Gilman's character, conveys this attitude that has been prevalent for so long. But, in addition to the advances in research, the...

Our understanding of depression in general has improved rapidly in...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:43:01 PST

Our understanding of depression in general has improved rapidly in recent years, largely as the result of continuing scientific research into the physiology of the human brain. As medications have become available to treat depression, advertising has become common to present them to the public. This has made the public much more aware of general depression as an illness, and the social stigma associated with it is slowly fading. However, a...

In our society, mental illnesses in all forms are often regarded with a...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 09:07:25 PST

In our society, mental illnesses in all forms are often regarded with a wary judgment and startling insensitivity. There is often the attitude that the person suffering should "just snap out of it," like they are just throwing some sort of petulant fit, or being difficult just for attention. Part of the reason for this is that people aren't very educated about disorders, and don't realize the full debilitating capacity that they have. ...

Post-Partum Depression

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 07:23:56 PST

I suffered from this after my first child, but did not seek any professional help. Thankfully, my case was not as severe as this woman's case, but I think either way it is frightening that not many people know about this disorder.

Take a look at famous examples like Brooke Shields and Andrea Yates, and discuss how the stigma of mental issues affects those who have the disorder. Also, this is a disorder that only women can have;...

In 1887 at a Philadelphia sanatorium, Dr. Weir Mitchell, who is alluded...

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 08:21:41 PST

In 1887 at a Philadelphia sanatorium, Dr. Weir Mitchell, who is alluded to in "The Yellow Wallpaper," treated Charlotte Perkins for a "nervous condition." The treatment was not only unsuccessful, but harmful. Perkins herself stated that she wrote her story, in part, to expose the harm that this doctor dealt sensitive, artistic women who were restricted from an creative or higher-level activities during their treatments. In the setting of...

Stream-of-consciousness writing is where the narrator of the story...

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 08:02:27 PST

Stream-of-consciousness writing is where the narrator of the story reveals all of their thoughts, no matter if they are connected, smooth, or logical in their progression. Let's say that you are just sitting there, thinking, daydreaming, and if you were to expose each and every thought that pops into your head, it would probably be pretty all over the place. Our brains are each unique, and what we think and in what order, reveals aspects...

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is narrated through stream-of-consciousness;...

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 06:40:26 PST

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is narrated through stream-of-consciousness; discuss, viewing the feminist and psychological aspect of the story.

hakikiturk, The most challenging factor in Gillman's "The Yellow...

Thu, 14 May 2009 16:33:13 PST

hakikiturk, The most challenging factor in Gillman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the narrator's situation. The narrator is a woman having a nervous breakdown, haunted by visions and obsessions. Forbidden to write, she secretly writes down her thoughts and experiences in an anxious and disjointed way. Not only is she an unreliable narrator, her reports are complicated further by the un-trusting nature of her husband and his sister, who...

How has narrator changed the "Yellow Wallpaper"?

Thu, 14 May 2009 16:03:54 PST

How has narrator changed the "Yellow Wallpaper"?

There might not be one right answer to this question, but in my opinion,...

Tue, 5 May 2009 09:52:04 PST

There might not be one right answer to this question, but in my opinion, the major theme of this story is the subjugation, imprisonment, and disrepect of the female in marriage. Throughout the entire story, the wife's expressions of her feelings and needs are completely disregarded. Who is the woman in the wallpaper who is trying to escape? She stands for the female protagonist, but also for all women who are trapped in marriage. If you...

What is the major theme of The Yellow Wallpaper?

Tue, 5 May 2009 09:38:14 PST

What is the major theme of The Yellow Wallpaper?

At a first glance the texts seem really different, especially when you...

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:47:15 PST

At a first glance the texts seem really different, especially when you consider the overarching theme of madness in The Yellow Wallpaper. However, I think there are a number of ways you can do this. Both essays address female sexuality in a pre- Freudian era. The protagonists are both in search of what it means to be a woman, a wife, and in Daisy's case, a lady ( James' major preoccupation in his writings). Society dictates certain norms...

The two works are about women's rights, or the lack thereof for both...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:54:46 PST

The two works are about women's rights, or the lack thereof for both main characters, Nora of The Doll House and the unnamed narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper. Both women are confined by their marriages, one literally, in The Yellow Wallpaper, Nora, emotionally and intellectually in The Doll House. The similarities that the two works share has to do with the rights of women in the late 19th century. Women struggled for many decades in the...

I think that the yelllow wall paper depicted a woman who believed that...

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:56:08 PST

I think that the yelllow wall paper depicted a woman who believed that there actually was someone/something living in the walls. Thats just a like a kid thinking that their doll house and the dolls are real. The woman sickness had her imagination running wild.

What is the big similarity between "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "A Doll's...

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:32:05 PST

What is the big similarity between "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "A Doll's House"?

What do the stories The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and...

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:08:45 PST

What do the stories The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Death In The Woods by Sherwood Anderson have in common?

In short, a woman is battling a form of insanity (is it post-partum...

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 21:22:02 PST

In short, a woman is battling a form of insanity (is it post-partum depression? something more serious?) on the surface of this story. However, the real story is about women's rights and women's voices being truly heard and acknowledged--the main character's worries are brushed aside by her husband because he thinks her illness is due to her being a woman, therefore it's all in her head. Enotes has great resources on this story. I always...