Doctor Knows Best
Often human illness calls for medical attention to acquire both soundness of body and mind. Opinions from medical professionals are sought after by those individuals seeking reassurance and peace of mind in knowing they will receive the best possible treatment. In her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman presents a situation where a respected professional, medical opinion contradicts those thoughts and desires of the patient. The "wife," and narrator, in the story suffers a long-drawn depression following the birth of her daughter. In an attempt to remedy her ailment, the character "John," a physician as well as the narrator's husband, prescribes rest and isolation as the cure for his wife's mental illness. It is apparent by the end of the story that such treatment not only failed to cure his wife's disorder, but further intensified her unstable condition. Many scholars offer other underlying explanations in exploring the narrator's sickness. Leslie Fishbein, in her review To Herland and Beyond: The Life and Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, points out that the narrator's ailment is credited to "a domestic role that ill fit her character and talents" (1116). On the other hand, i
She is trapped in a world bounded by those who refuse to listen to her opinions. John, in his effort to retain control over his wife, fills her head with concepts that please only him and believes that writing will only hinder her recovery. The narrator utilizes such treatment as an excuse to obey John and his professional opinion. with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore" (405). The narrator becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, which Gilman describes as "repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering Turner 5unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight" (405). John's reaction is significant in that he is shocked because his prescription of rest, isolation, and medication have deteriorated his wife's mental stability. Again, the narrator refers back to the medication and confinement- "But the effort is getting to be greater than the relief" (409). And when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide- plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions" (405). John ignores her personal expression feeling confident that prescription medication is the only way his wife will recover.
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