In 'Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper,' Charlotte Gilman suggests that stereotypes of women contributed to men's misunderstanding and dismissal of mental illness in women. Mitchell's rest cure exacerbated Gilman's condition and ultimately, her dismissal of his treatment led to her recovery. Weir Mitchell prescribed the 'rest cure,' a forced treatment of complete inactivity and rest. During this time, the famous 'nerve specialist' Dr. Following the birth of her daughter Katherine and her experience with severe postpartum depression in 1884, Gilman wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper”. Nevertheless, social codes and gender stereotypes restricted women's opportunities for independence from male figures. However, 19th century society remained predominantly patriarchal. The increasingly public endorsement of women's rights by iconoclasts, such as Angelina Grimke, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and William Lloyd Garrison, led to a heightened sense of importance and empowerment among women. As women's rights organizations such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union emerged in the 19th century, women's rights became a more prominent issue. Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' draws on historical settings and personal experience. In this narrative, Charlotte Perkins Gilman highlights the oppression of women in the 1890's and the complexity of mental illness using symbolism, extended metaphors, realist expression, Gothic elements, and synesthesia. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a parable of women's oppression and a narrative of one woman's descent into madness under patriarchy.

In the yellow wallpaper