The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman and The Depressed by Person David Wallace - Essay Example

Insert Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper and The Depressed Person Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses his short story d "The Yellow Wallpaper" to pass important lessons on the relegation of women with mental illness. Gilman achieves this by taking readers through the suffering of a woman with neurosis, including her mental condition and the rich symbolism of her uncertain destiny in the wallpaper in her chamber. On the other hand, David Foster Wallace’s story, “The Depressed Person”, delves in the challenges facing a woman who, by virtue of her shallowness and odious life, grapples with a common problem of depression in the hands of her doctor and a handful of supportive friends who she can rely upon. This paper examines the portrayal of mental illness in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Depressed Person.” Diminishing Individuality In both stories, mental illness is centred upon women whose roles in society are diminished by their mental condition. The illness is depicted as playing a pivotal role in weakening the personality, respect, rationality, self-esteem, and worthiness of women in the society. In The Depressed Person, mental illness is depicted as having the ability to rob a woman of her worth by grating personality, and despite her struggles to reverse her condition by seeking the services of a therapist, depression remains debilitating to her. Wallace portrays the embarrassment which the mentally ill normally go through in trying to seek support and assistance from their neighbours. This oftentimes strains passions as evident in the verbal altercations which such victims throw at the slightest delay to tend to them. Unlike Gilman’s story that does not show any therapeutic interventions to reverse the mental condition, Wallace carefully describes the female character’s drama with medical intervention as well as her fragile relationship with those who are in charge of her treatment (57). In addition, the response to the loss of individuality in the wake of a serious mental illness is different in both stories. Unlike in the Wallace’s story where the female protagonist is more aggressive in her attempt to reclaim her individuality, Gilman portrays the story of a woman who is submissive and seems to have lost hope on her worthiness. It is immediately clear in “The Yellow Wallpaper” that due to her mental illness, the female character willingly accepts her relegation to an inferior position in favour of men, particularly her spouse, John. Gilman points out that as a doctor, the husband calls the shots over her. Mental illness has enabled her to not only accept but follow John’s orders to remain in bed, conquer her memories, and most importantly, forfeit her writing despite the fact that she has a better feeling when she pens her thoughts, and believes it may be important to mitigate her health condition. She does withhold a verbal response to the advice of her husband. Ingenuity in mental health Wallace (57) depicts mental health as the point of one’s departure from rationality and wisdom, at least judging by the mentally ill woman’s call upon her therapist. The author depicts the drugs such as Wellbutrin, Strattera, Lexapro, and Cymbalta as not bringing any difference to the patient at all. Wallace depicts mental illness as the main cause of even other more dangerous health effects on the victims. He adds that the mentally ill should appreciate their condition if it does not warrant any medical intervention or if the prescriptions bring about positive outcomes, since such drugs are known to cause fatal side-affects ranging from skin rashes to cardiac complications. Gilman on the other hand describes the mentally ill as reasonable and calm personalities who have their own principles, which regrettably, they are denied the chance to practice particularly on matters involving their own lives. With "Personally I disagree with their ideas” (Gilman 160), the protagonist’s response to her husband’s paternalistic treatment of her in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is testimony enough of her somewhat objective approach to her life, her mental health notwithstanding. Unlike the mentally ill woman shouting for her harassing her doctor in “The Depressed Person”, “The Yellow Wallpaper” depicts a somewhat ingenious woman who is certain that congenial exercises which she enjoys doing would be appropriate for her. It is arguable that the protagonist’s written response to the effect that her mental condition has left her with few options in her own life clearly depicts her lost self-esteem and feeling of worthlessness. In both stories, however, the protagonists’ choice of silence in the Gilman’s story and verbal exchanges in the Wallace’s story clearly depicts their frustration at the incompetence of those who they rely upon for support (57). The two writers depict somewhat different experiences that all individuals who have mental illnesses go through, regardless of the seriousness of their condition. The blanket perception of the society on the inability of the mentally ill to lead their own lives makes some mild cases to reluctantly accept their conditions, while those with severer cases tend to show open reactiveness at the slightest show of resentment towards them. Perhaps, the use of the two mentally ill women in both stories depicts the rich symbolism of the seriousness of the challenges that women face in society in their effort to achieve gender parity. Symbolism The characters are depicted as grappling with social challenges in society, problems which make it hard for them to find for themselves their needs and reclaim the respect they once had. The Yellow Wallpaper has rich symbolism in the wallpaper, which generally embodies the deterioration of the protagonist’s health and serves as a mirror that provides a picture of the hydra that is the life of people with such conditions. The introduction of the wallpaper compliments the storyline with setting the social surrounding within which the woman has found herself in. The wallpaper reveals that an individual with a mental condition feels gloomy enough to attract the attention of their close associates; sufficiently pronounced to constantly annoy; and when one follows the lame ambiguous curves that such cases are, their lives and or relevance comes to an abrupt end under the weight of massive contradictions. The Gilman’s description of a mentally ill person converges with Wallace’s account of the highly aggravated woman, who is less composed and resorts to verbal exchanges with the medical staff taking care of them (57). Such an experience normally scares away most people from their social lives, leaving them lonely and unwanted. Still, the description of the yellow wallpaper as being unattractive enough to obscure a clear sight and persistently creating curiosity can be attributed to the sense of weakness and burden within the mentally ill in relation to their neighbours. The deformed and unpredictable curves on the wallpaper, which the protagonist mentions, most probably reference the preposterous advice that she receives from her husband, and the end of life being the destiny that awaits her if she adheres to them. The weird contradictions in the “The Yellow Wallpaper” story show the skewed and contradictory perceptions that most people, particularly those with good mental health like John harbour regarding the mentally ill. The woman describes her husband as saying at one point that she only can take charge of her own life and overcome the problem; that she must summon her own determination and self-control in order to guard herself against any silly fancies that could jeopardise her destiny (Gilman 165). But in practice, her life seems to be predetermined by the mentally healthy men within her community. Conclusion The mentally ill are depicted as going through a loss of individuality and sense of worthiness in the hands of seemingly paternalistic, healthy persons around them and who they depend upon for support. But virtually everybody does not feel for the community, especially if they are women as depicted in the two stories. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John does not trust his wife to take care of herself. Wallace’s “The Depressed Person”, on the other hand, tells the struggles of a mentally ill person who wants to see her will prevail. In both stories, however, the mentally ill are depicted as lacking in a very important part of humanity – individuality. This deficiency oftentimes leads them to be disparaged more even on issues that they can handle on their own. In light of this, the two authors tacitly concur that the mentally ill persons need the space and support of the community to prove their worth and recover their lost dignity. Works Cited Gilman, Perkins Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories. New York: Courier Dover Publications. Wallace, David Foster. The depressed person. Harpers Magazine, 296.1772 (1998): 57. Read More