Sanity The Root Insanity - 1577 Words

Dennis Svistun Professor Minor ENG 113 2W6 2 October 2013 Sanity: The Root Insanity What is truly considered to be sane or insane can never be absolutely determined by any means, but Charlotte Perkins Gilman investigates, to the best of her abilities, who and what should be understood as sane or insane. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, any reader with any ability to interpret can see that this subject matter is discussed throughout the text. But which characters are really insane and what evidence is there to prove this? By using the author’s text and other credible outside sources, this paper will research the deep realms of the minds of the characters introduced in the short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† One of†¦show more content†¦This was known to be a very effective means of treatment at the time. The narrator’s condition is a type of nervous depression that can lead to obsessive â€Å"fancies† and imaginations. From the perspective of understanding oneself an d accepting the present situation’s circumstances, the main character is indeed the sanest person in the story. At first, the protagonist talks about the house that she and her husband were to stay at for a short while. She does not hesitate to describe what her first impressions were on the house because she states that it was rather strange building that had a haunted effect from looking at it. Not only this, but she also introduces her husband and physician, John. John is described as a person with â€Å"no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures† (Gilman 364). Not only is the narrator consciously observant of her circumstances, but she is able to think for herself and formulate logical claims. For example, Gilman writes about how the narrator is frequently seen as a schizophrenic, possessed, and absolutely insane individual whose mind only continues to deterio rate rather than an individual who understands the situation and can conscientiously create questions and thoughts about what she is experiencing. Greg Johnson writes, â€Å"Her experience should finally be viewed not as a catastrophe but as a terrifying, necessary stage in her