The Yellow Wallpaper - Managing the Madness-Mental Illness - Research Proposal Example

ory, an exaggerated account of an event from Gilman’s own life, stands as a statement against the male oppression of women experienced throughout much of history, but particularly as it was still experienced in the late 19th century when this story was written. Although many advances have been made on the part of women to explore their own goals and psyches, ‘the problem that has no name’ discussed by Friedan and illustrated by Gilman remains an issue as women continue to find many of the same objectification issues they have faced for centuries.

In the story, John and the protagonist take up residence in an upper room of the house, thought to have once been a nursery, with bars on the windows and old faded yellow wallpaper attached to the walls. This wallpaper plays a large role in the progression of the woman’s illness as she begins to see women creeping around inside it, trying to escape the oppression they, too, have experienced. The woman is instructed to stay within the room, doing nothing, thinking nothing and engaged in absolutely no household chore, until she is well.

While the diagnosis is to rest, with absolutely no burdens placed upon her, this treatment does not seem the wise course to the woman. “Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?” However, her opinion doesn’t matter in the slightest as she is told to hush and stop being so contrary. In the end, the woman is completely insane, creeping around the walls herself after peeling the wallpaper off as high as she can reach, even creeping over her husband, who has fainted against the wall, in order to continue her progress unimpeded.

One of the biggest impacts on women throughout history has been a general socially oriented tendency to objectify the gender rather than consider females as fully viable members of a society. According to Diana Kendall (2004),