For this final assignment given for this class, we were to develop a question in where we would further analyze, using a variety of texts and different pieces of research.

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Gerardo Rosas Garcia

Professor Nicholas Otte 

FIQWS 10108

7 December 2020

Perceptions and Role of Women in Literature

      Through the use of literature, one can see the perception of many characters throughout a text, but particularly women. The way they are perceived in literature is a tool that catches the reader’s attention since we see that this gap exists between a man and a woman. We can see that a woman’s health is addressed differently in literature and it’s a topic that is interesting to explore. Women have been seen as figures through a period of time and seen as people who are to accept certain norms. When they don’t meet such standards, it’s when they’re considered abnormal or different from those that surround them. With regards to mental health, we see how society tends to treat individuals in such a way that causes instability within a character. Such stories where we see this through composes of pieces of literature such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Daemon Lover”. The question that one starts to ask when reading such texts is “How have literary depictions of women with mental illness through Shirley Jackson and Charlotte Perkins addressed society’s impact on their condition, and how has this, in turn, shaped our perception of women and mental health?”. It’s a question that focuses more on how stories have an effect of portraying women and mental illness in literature.

       In texts such as “The Yellow Wallpaper”, we see how women are easily ignored and treated when wanting to receive help. Through this piece of text, the narrator is someone who doesn’t receive the proper treatment that she should be getting, and it’s what causes her condition to get worse than what it had been at the start. The article “Managing Madness in Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper”, mentions that “Gilman’s autobiographical observations in “Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper” reveal that she did not regard such extreme lapses in medical judgment as insurmountable, but much of the criticism written about “The Yellow Wallpaper” continues to treat this tale as the dark and complex record of a woman’s (or woman writer’s) oppression, victimization, collapse, and paradoxical emancipation” (Hume 3). With this, one can see how Charlotte Perkins wanted to bring light to situations in which women fell into this dark place in which society did too little to help. In such cases, we see that the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” was to face her condition alone and not receive any sort of help but instead be controlled by those around her. 

     Oppression is what causes the narrator to sink in this hole and we see that the only thing that her husband does is “laugh” (Perkins 647) and tells her that it’s a “temporary nervous depression” (Perkins 648). These lines show us what men who attempt managing women who might be psychologically ill see them from a different perspective. It’s a reason why many women tend to get deeply affected by what society thinks and does to them as a whole. As the reader, we see how women are viewed in regards to going through a mental illness and not receiving the proper treatment that they need to get better. It brought to our attention that women suffering from mental illness as we can see through text as “The Yellow Wallpaper’, tend to get ignored and left there expecting for them to recover. The article “Reproducing Feminism in ‘Jasmine’ and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’”, mentions that “In her groundbreaking analysis of race in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, Susan Lanser argues that such universalist readings create a feminist subjectivity for the narrator’s story” (Nadkarni 220). Through this, gender and race plays a crucial role in the way women characters are perceived in a novel. This feminist approach arises since there are women in novels who are treated and viewed differently compared to men. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, we see this big gap between genders in the plot of the story. It addresses society’s impact on a woman’s mental health and the detrimental effect it has on them as seen through different pieces of literature. The article of “Reproducing Feminism in ‘Jasmine’ and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’” also mentioned that  “At the same time, “The Yellow Wallpaper” reveals the danger of even the project: instead of the narrator freeing the women in the wallpaper, she becomes the women in the wallpaper, crawling around the room tied by her own rope” (Nadkarni 224). Through this interpretation, we see a true picture of the damage society can have on a woman’s health. 

        As women, they can lose themselves in this realm of insanity and we see through the article “Managing Madness in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, how they mentioned that “the narrator’s bizarre mental journey appears most directly associated with the often critically cited demands placed upon her by the gender biases inherent in the rest cure and her role as a wife in American Victorian culture” (Hume 11-12). We see that the article explains more about the oppression of men towards women and the impact it has on them. In other terms, we see that society has led women such as the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” to lose themselves and not be able to go back to the normal person that they were. As women, they are trapped and are forced to live such a life in which they’re expected to serve these roles they believe women should serve. This unjust act that occurs is what has shaped our real-world perceptions of women and mental health. We see how in most cases women tend to be ignored and left there on their own, with no one by their sides to help them. 

     Another literary text that shows women with mental illness is in Shirley Jackson’s best works known as “The Daemon Lover”. In such text, we see how women who address concerns or show signs of abnormal behavior are seen as different by people who can’t see their suffering inside. These works clearly show what society thinks of women and mental illness which opens up this discussion of the way society thinks about women. In such cases, we see that gender roles play an effect on a women’s health and it’s a leading cause for a women’s downfall. Such disorders that women developed were at times misdiagnosed by other things such as “hysteria” and treatments implied on women to deal with any sort of problem were at times the most ineffective methods with dealing with a disorder. Such mistreatment of women is what has led people to voice their opinion and target those that contribute to such harm to a woman’s mental state. Through literature, we see how life was for many individuals and the way they were perceived by others. In “The Daemon Lover” we see this horror that a woman experiences due to societal norms. We see that this book precisely draws us to what women are forced to obey and things that are expected of them. This is what drives them into this dark place and have no other way to go. This book in particular introduces a wife who is out on a quest to find her missing husband, who doesn’t show up on the day of their wedding. The wife is in shock, so she sets a path to look for her supposed husband and is put into this position of being ignored and seen as an odd-looking woman by those around her. In “The Daemon Lover” there is this part in which the woman goes into a deli and mentions “I’m trying to get in touch with a man who lived in the apartment house next door, and I just wondered if you knew him” (Jackson 19). Through this scene, we can see how she is in absolute paranoia and is ignored by the guy in the deli store, who disregards her and sees her as crazy. Society is what leads the wife to see herself in a position she doesn’t want to be in. Shirley Jackson has been known to expose such oppression and abuse that exists towards women. It’s a reason why she has shown in her many works, what the world can do to a woman, which ultimately destroys her. Mental health back in the 19th and 20th century was seen as a different issue and many in society wouldn’t put much attention to it. This is a reason why in most cases, people suffering from mental illness, particularly women would be greatly affected by it. As we see in texts written by Charlotte Perkins and Shirley Jackson, we see that women tend to get ignored with the simplest problems that they have. 

   In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, we see that the narrator may be suffering from postpartum depression, but as we can see, her husband John “laughs” (Perkins  649). This is what ultimately leads her to lose herself in this wallpaper and see herself trapped at the very end. This trapment was due to maltreatment she got and being left unattended. Returning to “The Daemon Lover”, we see how the wife in parts of the book is dismissed and treated in a way that seems so unreal. It’s like she was getting teased and was trapped with either going her path or choosing what society expects from her. At the end of the book, the wife is confronted with “two doors” (Jackson 27) and “heard voices inside” (Jackson 27). This helps show that the wife is left in between these two doors of whether to accept reality or choosing a path that can lead her into this state of madness. The article “Only One antagonist: The Demon Lover and the Feminine experience in the Work of Shirley Jackson” states that “here she encounters not only the dismissal laughter of men, made demonic by reaction and association with the laughter of James Harris” (Bonikowski 73). We see this interpretation of “The Daemon Lover” in which the men the wife encounters through her path of finding her presumed husband can be seen as demonic beings that made her life a living hell. In other terms, men tend to be demonic individuals who control women and are the main oppressors of women. 

        This ultimately affects women to a great extent, since many believe that a man should have control over them and decide on what a woman should and shouldn’t do. Also in the article, it mentions that “Jackson stories might also warn married women, or those about to be married, not so that they might protect themselves from demonic visitation by remaining at home” (Bonikowski 76).  We see how Shirley Jackson, through her works, warns women about the danger of following gender roles and the impact a controlling husband can have on his wife. Jackson through her works addresses society’s impact on women and most importantly the role society plays in regards to women’s mental health. We see that in society many tend to disregard a woman’s pain and leave them there without actually giving them a helping hand. This article from The New York Times gives us an idea of what women feel and the generalization given about them when dealing with their mental and physical health. The New York Times article “When Doctors Deny a Woman’s Pain” mentions “It’s been proven that doctors — that people, in general — minimize women’s pain. We are not believed about our own bodies. People with mental illness struggle to be heard, to be taken seriously — what happens when these realities intersect” (Simon).  Through this given quote we see that a woman’s pain tends to be seen as less important which causes some to doubt them when expressing their pain. This in return infuriates women because they feel like there are no other individuals who can understand what they’re feeling and going through. I see the point where many women who go through a mental illness are rarely listened to in some circumstances.

     We see that books written by Shirley Jackson and Charlotte Perkins were written in times where society had a complete list of standards that a woman had to follow. If such a standard was not listened to or followed, it would result in viewing a woman as strange and out of context. Meaning that women who didn’t behave as one would already be in the attention of others. In such cases, when a woman suffers through a mental disorder she is seen as different by those individuals who judge them in their figure, but don’t do much to help them deal with it. It’s a reason why in most cases many people would tend to joke and talk about a woman who is acting strange, than to a woman who follows societal norms. This other quote presented to us in The New York Times article “When Doctors Deny a Women’s Pain” is “Perhaps if we all speak, or all scream together, we’ll finally be heard” (Simon). Through this article, we see that many women feel the same about the issue of women and mental illness. It gives us an idea of what society tends to see women in connection with mental illness. Through literature, we see similar aspects that women aren’t heard, but left there and gives us a complete sense of the impact we have on a woman’s health, overall. We see that women get affected due to this gender gap and the portrayal of mental illness through different types of cultures. 

    Through this interview made about “Mental Health Stigma and Healing”, Gayathri Ramprasad made it clear to us the pressure felt in many types of women who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. She is someone who has dealt with the stigma attached to it and wants to teach others about ways that will help deal with the issue. During her interview she mentions “Culture shapes the way we perceive mental illness and people living with mental health conditions. Culture also influences whether or where we seek treatment, how we cope, and our social supports” (Ramprasad). With her response given in the interview, we see that our culture and the things society implies on us as individuals can have an impact on how we view mental disorders in others, but most importantly women. Due to these cultures and understanding brought by others, it leads to failure in some women to get access to appropriate medical treatment and care. Another key thing the women being interviewed mentioned that “Unfortunately, the less we talk about it, the less we are able to humanize and normalize mental health issues. If we talk about them more, we have a better chance of breaking the cycle of stigma, prejudice, and discrimination” (Ramprasad). Through this, we see that as people, we are the reason why we create this stigma around mental disorders and fail to help others who may necessarily need our help to do so. Through Charlotte Perkins and Shirley Jackson, we can see that mental disorders during the time they wrote such stories, mental disorders, was something not talked about, but was often ignored. 

      Other individuals, on the other side, may consider mental health something that doesn’t change our perception of women and that in such cases, society hasn’t played much of a role in a woman’s health. Most of the time, many individuals tend to fail because of their lack of knowledge of mental disorders, and the way they might treat others with it may have an overall impact on a woman’s condition and well being. Particularly, women are the ones affected, since in many cultures and societies many tend to disregard a woman’s mental health. They expect her to act a certain way, not considering any problems she may be going through. As seen in the interview, Gayathri Ramprasad mentioned that “as a child living with the diagnosis made my family and me feel something to be ashamed of” (Ramprasad). People who may have this mentality, may not realize the total impact they might have, leaving someone with a mental illness to be left and not seek treatment, just because they’re afraid of how they might be viewed by those around them. Unfortunately, this tends to happen in many cultures, and in such cases, we see how society tends to have an impact on a women’s condition when dealing with a mental disorder.

       This in turn has shaped our real-world perception of women and mental health as it’s an issue that has to be spoken about more. Through different pieces of literature and articles, we see the impact we have if we don’t start talking about it more open to others who might not be familiar with the topic. This article from psychology today “Gender Discrimination Causes Depression” is this article that gives us an overview of the overall impact, gender discrimination has on a women’s mental health. We see that it mentioned “Many factors that impact women to a greater extent than men have been identified as increasing the risk of depression in women. These conditions include unequal power and status, psychological stress, sexual violence, and domestic violence” (Lambert). Due to the unequal power that exists between a man and a woman, it has caused women to suffer more mentally and psychically.  We see through literature and research that women have suffered due to the implementation of societal norms that have been adapted over many cultures. 

    Many things that women experienced in society are rising causes of their overall condition when they have a mental disorder. We see that society does the bare minimum to help them since many tend to fail to see the current situation of what women may be experiencing. As we see in literature in such texts as “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Daemon Lover”, we see this gap that exists between genders and has uncovered and addressed society’s impact on a woman’s condition. Due to such reasons, it is what has caused many to put more attention to a woman’s health and how much of an effect, gender inequality has on a woman. As we see in the psychology today article which tells us that “The inequity of gender is one of many important discriminatory factors affecting groups of people” (Lambert). We see how much of an effect this inequity that exists causes within women, which has opened up this realm, for many of us to see this real-world perception of women and mental health. 

Works Cited 

• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, New England Magazine , 1892, p. 347–356. Print.
• Jackson, Shirley. “The Daemon Lover.” The Lottery and Other Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. p. 9-28. Print.
• Hume, Beverly A. “Managing Madness in Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper.” Studies in American Fiction, vol. 30, no. 1, 2002, pp. 3-20., doi.org/10.1353/saf.2002.0005.
• Nadkarni, Asha. “Reproducing Feminism in ‘Jasmine’ and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” Feminist Studies, vol. 38, no. 1, 2012, pp. 218–244., https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A293668229/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=a8524c08.
• Bonikowski, Wyatt. “Only One Antagonist”: The Demon Lover and the Feminine Experience in the Work of Shirley Jackson.” Gothic Studies, vol. 15, no. 2, 2013, pp.66–88., doi:10.7227/GS.15.2.5.
• Simon, Katie. “When Doctors Deny a Woman’s Pain.” The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/opinion/birth-control-mental-health.html. Accessed 13 December 2020.
• Lambert, Carol. “Gender Discrimination Causes Depression.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 13 Oct. 2020. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-games/202010/gender-discrimination-causes-depression.
• Ramprasad, Gayathri. An Interview About Mental Health Stigma and Healing. Women’s Health,   6 February 2018.