The Yellow Wallpaper, published in 1892, originated from the author’s traumatic experience with the rest cure treatment for postpartum depression. Charlotte Perkins Gilman utilized her diverse background as a sociologist, economist, and poet to challenge the rigid gender roles and the division of labor that defined American society during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Early Influences and Artistic Education
Born in Hartford in 1860, Charlotte Anna Perkins experienced a childhood defined by poverty following her father’s departure. Her upbringing was marked by erratic schooling and a restrictive home environment. Despite these obstacles, she cultivated a self-directed education in physics and literature. In 1878, she enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she pursued her interests in painting and trade card artistry.
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Take the IQ test →The Impact of Rest Cure Therapy
Following the 1885 birth of her daughter, Katharine Beecher Stetson, Gilman suffered from severe postpartum depression. She sought help from Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, who prescribed the rest cure. This regimen demanded total domesticity and banned intellectual pursuits, including writing and drawing. The treatment proved disastrous, driving her toward a mental collapse that provided the foundational narrative for her most significant short fiction.
Reform and Sociological Contributions
After relocating to Pasadena in 1888, Gilman became a central figure in social reform movements. By 1896, she served as a delegate for California at the International Socialist and Labor Congress in London and the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Washington, D.C. Her theoretical work culminated in the 1898 publication of Women and Economics, a manifesto advocating for the economic independence of women.
Final Years and Legacy
Gilman married Houghton Gilman in 1900, residing in New York City until 1922, before returning to Norwich, Connecticut. Following a diagnosis of incurable breast cancer in 1932, she remained an advocate for the rights of the terminally ill. She ended her own life in 1935 in Pasadena, choosing to bypass the progression of her illness. She was later inducted into both the Connecticut and National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Fast facts
- Born: 1860, Hartford
- Died: 1935, Pasadena
- Notable Works: The Yellow Wall Paper, Herland, Women and Economics
- Major Awards: Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame (1994), National Women's Hall of Fame (1994)
- Primary Occupations: writer, poet, economist, artist, editor, sociologist, philosopher, novelist
- Citizenship: United States
Questions readers ask
What was the rest cure treatment?
A medical regimen developed by Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell that forbade intellectual activity and creative work, forcing patients into strict domestic confinement.
Why did Gilman choose to end her life?
She was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer in 1932 and chose to die by suicide using chloroform in 1935 to avoid the progression of the disease.
Achievements
- Notable work: The Yellow Wall Paper
- Notable work: Herland
- Notable work: Women and Economics
