To See or Not to See

In this world you have people suffering from several different kinds

of mental illnesses because people believe is what they see. You have

people that do not believe the mind can be ill because they do not see a

physical defect that points to something being wrong. This is what I see in

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She tells of how

John a well known physician deals with his wife’s mental condition. She

shows effect of how mental illness can be misunderstood. She tells of how

the wife’s neglected mental condition turns into madness.

John, the well known physician, does not believe that there is

anything seriously wrong with his wife because he does not see no physical

defects that points to something not right. John says “Temporary nervous

depression--a slight hysterical tendency” (pg 956) which means he is

dismissing his wife’s feelings as not serious. John goes on and says “the

worst thing I can do is to think about my condition” (pg 956) which is

ignoring that a problem exists. In these two statements I see a man who

does not realize that there is a real serious mental illness going on with his

wife’s mind.

The wife, whose name is not given, know that something is not as it

should be in her mind. She tries to get her husband to understand that

something is wrong when she says “there is something queer about it” (pg

956) and “there is something strange about the house”(pg 957). John just

laughs and treats her like a little girl wanting attention. What she really

feels is trapped with no way out. She starts seeing things in the wallpaper

that slowly turns her mental illness into madness.

The madness begins with the wife ripping the