Charlotte Perkins Gilman s The Yellow Wallpaper - 1861 Words

Mental illness is a pressing condition that requires a doctor’s acceptance and understanding to be treated. One must respect the disorder and be aware of its side effects and characteristics in order to comprehend what is happening to the affected individual. In today’s society, most people are accepting of people’s handicaps and take into consideration their limits, but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, people were unaccepting of impairments and were quick to misjudge individuals leading them to be wrongly diagnosed. No piece of American literature better demonstrates this concern than Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† Gilman uses her background filled with her own struggles with mental illness and†¦show more content†¦It brings a heavy darkness† (30). Even though this shows Gilman occasionally had trouble with her depression, it also shows she understood how to manage it, and she became e xceedingly aware of her limitations. Gilman was also exposed to oppression during her youth. She witnessed her mother being oppressed by her father when he left her with two children and no way to support herself (Knight 29). Because of the exposure to these things, Gilman grew into a highly mature and well-rounded young woman. One can infer Gilman led a seemingly conventional childhood with few problems. Although depression constantly accompanied Gilman, she learned to manage and accept it as she grew and matured. She was extremely content with her condition and its side effects until she began dating her first husband, Charles Walter Stetson (The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman 81). Initially, Gilman relished in Stetson’s company and admired their similarities and faint differences. When their relationship became more serious, she feared she would be subjected and tied to him, but she shortly conceded to be married after a few years. The young feminist soon regretted it (The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman 81-84). Gilman’s attitude in her autobiography changes when she talks about