How Charlotte Perkins Gilman Uses Unreliable Narration to Depict Mental Illness in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
How Charlotte Perkins Gilman Uses Unreliable Narration to Depict Mental Illness in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
One of the most striking features of The Yellow Wallpaper is its use of unreliable narration, which serves as a vehicle for illustrating the narrator’s psychological deterioration. From the outset, the reader is made aware that the narrator’s perception of events is increasingly distorted. The story is told through a series of journal entries, and as the narrator becomes more obsessed with the wallpaper, her entries become more fragmented and erratic. This unreliable narration is a powerful tool that allows Gilman to depict the confusion and isolation that often accompany mental illness.
The narrator’s descent into madness is conveyed through her increasingly disjointed thoughts and perceptions. She starts by describing the wallpaper as unattractive, but as time passes, she becomes fixated on it. She begins to see movement in the wallpaper, and later, she imagines a woman trapped within the patterns. Her obsession with the wallpaper grows, and she starts to believe that the woman is trying to escape. This increasingly unreliable narrative reflects the narrator’s own mental breakdown, as she loses her grip on reality and becomes unable to differentiate between what is real and what is imagined.
Through this unreliable narration, Gilman offers readers a glimpse into the fragmented, distorted reality experienced by individuals suffering from mental illness. The narrator’s inability to recognize the severity of her condition is a key aspect of her psychological decline. At the same time, the unreliable narration serves as a critique of the way mental illness was understood and treated at the time. The narrator’s distorted perceptions are ignored by her husband, who dismisses her concerns as trivial. Instead of seeking help for her psychological distress, the rest cure further isolates her and reinforces her growing delusions.
In conclusion, the use of unreliable narration in The Yellow Wallpaper serves to immerse the reader in the narrator’s psychological breakdown. By presenting the story from the perspective of a woman who is losing her grip on reality, Gilman effectively conveys the confusion and isolation that often accompany mental illness. The narrator’s unreliable narrative also critiques the medical profession’s dismissive attitude toward women’s mental health and its failure to recognize the complexity of their psychological needs.
