Annie DengENG 101-L80Essay 1The Results of Patriarchal RepressionCharlotte Perkins Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper" is an example of how women were repressed by society in the 19th century . The narrator is an upper-middle-class woman who probably suffers from postpartum depression, but due to ineffective treatment, she begins to go crazy. The narrator's husband, John, assumed that because he was a doctor, he knew better and controlled her actions. She then retreats into her obsession with the wallpaper on the walls, the only thing she can control. Her infatuation with wallpaper begins when she imagines a woman behind bars, and eventually leads to her ripping the woman and wallpaper off the walls completely, symbolizing her escape from oppression. The narrator's eventual madness is the result of the repression caused by patriarchal society and the suppression of her imaginative power. The authoritative voices of her husband and other doctors cause her to remain speechless and passive. John's assumption that his knowledge and maturity are superior leads him to misjudge and control his wife, all in the name of helping her. He did not realize the seriousness of her condition and asked her to take a break from the country air and so he isolated her. She received the “rest cure” frequently prescribed for women in the 19th century; a period of complete isolation without any form of creative outlet for the mind. The connection between the narrator's complacency in her role within the family and that of a doctor is clear - her silent complacency having led to bad consequences. She says: "If a high-ranking doctor and her own husband assure her friends and family that there really is no... middle of paper... the wallpaper was the mirror of his freedom from oppression. She continues to step over her husband, suggesting that she was overstepping the patriarchy and what had controlled her in the past. Charlotte Gilman explained the requirement and use of self-expression by showing its importance to the protagonist. The message is clear and oppressive. The nature of the 19th century and its patriarchal lifestyles is not a healthy way of living for all members of a society. The restrictions placed on her daily creative and active tasks caused her to be overly obsessive about the room she was locked in. This became obvious. that the more detailed her obsession became, the more she fell into her madness. By symbolizing the protagonist's descent into psychosis after rest treatment, Gilman illustrates that imagination and freedom of expression are important to both sexes..