Isolation
Have you ever seen the critically acclaimed blockbuster Castaway, featuring Tom Hanks? It consists of a man who gets stranded on an island and is isolated which eventually causes him to go mad and he takes up a friendship with an inanimate object, a volleyball, which he names Wilson. This same circumstance occurs in the short story The Yellow Wallpaper; by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The main character is a woman who is diagnosed to be ill and is locked inside a room with nothing to do but look at the ugly yellow wallpaper. As her isolation continues, the author uses the wallpaper in a way that shows the progression of the woman’s insanity as it worsens. Being stuck in extreme isolation can leave some lasting effects on a person, mainly mental, and if this isolation is prolonged it can eventually result in insanity.
They say that laughter is the best medicine. Most people laugh when they are doing the things they love, expressing themselves, and spending time with others. Though none of these were an option for the woman in her sickly state, according to her husband who also happened to be her doctor. One of the main treatments he focused on was a heavy dose of prescriptions and rest. This caused the woman to feel extremely tired most of the time which inhibited her from writing in her journal or being social. Her tiredness was expressed when she stated, “I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal” (15). When no one is around to talk to, writing down your emotions or thoughts is the next best thing. Due to the effects of the medication on the woman, she was unable to do either of these, causing her emotions to become bottled up. She did attempt to keep a secret journal because the lack of self expression was becoming too much for her to handle. However, her isolation eventually overcame her which exacerbated her insanity.
In the late 1800s, isolation was the go to treatment for unknown and “incurable” illnesses such as depression and mental illness. The woman’s husband, John, used this isolation treatment as he felt that rest was the best medicine. She was told to, “...take phosphates or phosphites -- whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again.” (Gilman, 11). She considered writing to be her “work”, and if she couldn’t write then she was unable to get her thoughts out. Nowadays self expression is actually encouraged by doctors that want their patients to find an outlet from their thoughts. There are many treatments available including group therapy, organized activities, medicine, etc. This goes to show how different medical diagnoses have developed and progressed over time. Looking back, the old forms of isolation actually proved to increase a patient’s symptoms and led to increased depression and insanity.
Towards the beginning of the woman’s isolation, when her mind was still somewhat clear, she hated the wallpaper she was forced to look at and found it ugly and revolting. As a reader, it was apparent that as the story continued she became more and more interested in the wallpaper that she once hated. She was now becoming fond of its pattern and wanting to know more about it, actually connecting with it. She used the yellow wallpaper as her outlet, but it couldn’t give anything back to her leading to further depression. Observing the wallpaper was the only outlet that she had available to her. As her mind began to warp and deteriorate she began to visualize a woman living behind the bars of the wallpaper which symbolized her imprisonment. She stated that, “The front pattern does move -- and no wonder? The woman behind shakes it!” (Gilman, 187). Her once hatred of the wallpaper now developed into an obsession even to the point of being able to smell the wallpaper all the time and wanting to bite and rip at it. The longer her isolation went on, the more obsessed she became with the wallpaper and her insanity escalated.
Gilman uses the woman to depict what can happen to an isolated, depressed, mentally ill person that is not allowed to vent their emotions or find an outlet to cope with their disorder. Depression and mental illnesses have always existed and will continue to exist. Doctors need to continue to work closely with patients rather than tucking them away in a corner with no hope of recovery.