"Much Madness is the Divinest Sense": Madness in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Abstract

It was commonly reflected in the literature of 19th century that men assumed any stress in a woman's life was the direct result of her having acted outside of her domestic sphere . If a woman tried to partake in "male" activities, such as writing, or go beyond the norm, it was sure to have an ill effect on her, because she was designed to act solely as mother, wife and home-maker.