Summary of the Article
The main goal of Kohl’s Literary Authority in Medicine was to underline that the treatment the protagonist of “The Yellow Wallpaper” went through was inadequate due to the miscommunications with her sexist doctor. Moreover, the work stresses that the hysteria that the protagonist was diagnosed with was evidence of a degree of inequality that the women of that time were subject to. Thus, the research delves into the historical context of the time when the short story was written to show the extent of the marginalization of women in the psychological field during the nineteenth century.
Relevance of the Article to “The Yellow Wallpaper”
The paper section will go through the connection between the chosen research and the short story. The research by Emma Kohl was aimed directly at the short story to expand on the narrative of discrimination and marginalization of women when the story was written. It briefly summarizes the story, then gives further information on the sections of the story from other researchers, especially going into detail about the rest cure that the protagonist was prescribed (Kohl 195). Thus, the connection between the research and the short story is that the research is based on the short story and gives more context to what is happening in it.
The article will be of significant use for the documented essay since it directly addresses the subject under analysis. Precisely, Kohl dissects the issue of sex-based oppression in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” outlining the core challenges that the protagonist faces and connecting them to the historically observed injustice. The specified insight into the nuances of Gilman’s writing allows for examining the 19th-centiury approaches to addressing mental health in women and the prejudices based on which the identified approaches were developed.
Kohl explains the fatal flaws of the standards and strategies for managing mental health in women by demonstrating the dismissive nature with which women’s mental health issues were perceived. Thus, providing the very foundation for this research and helping answer the research question directly, the article by Kohl serves as the foundation for the further analysis and assessment of core issues with mental health treatment approaches.
Work Cited
Kohl, Emma. “Literary Authority in Medicine: An Analysis of Women and Medicine in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” The Cupola, vol. 16, 2022, pp.193-199.