“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman recalls her life and some of the difficulties she faced: her difficult childhood after her parents divorced, leaving her mother to try to provide to his children, due to an absent father who rarely had contact with his children. Her marriage, in which conflict appeared early, and the depression she suffered after the birth of her mistreated daughter by an acclaimed doctor, were also real-life events. These aspects can be found in one way or another in this short story. Gilman's father abandoned the family when she was young, leaving her mother with the arduous task of providing for them all and having little time for her children. Even though the speaker in the story is still together with her husband, John, they spend most of their time apart. He states that “John is gone all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious” (Gilman 958). She misses him, but that's on top of the fact that she spends more time alone, isolated from the world around her as a way to feel better, which she isn't. Additionally, she is somewhat detached from her son, perhaps representing Gilman's distance from his mother when he was younger. She acknowledges her feelings for him, but is happy that someone helps take care of him: “What a dear child! Yet I can't be with him, he makes me nervous” (Gilman 958). This may lead the reader to think that, perhaps, he is afraid of harming his son. Gilman, on the other hand, could give her reader insight into her feelings as a mother after giving birth to her daughter, believing that "maternal roles are artificial and no longer necessary for survival" (Oakes). Her daughter stayed with her husband after the se...... middle of paper ...... Wallpaper” is a similarity to the author's experience with depression. Charlotte Perkins Gilman went through hardships at an early age, having been separated from her father, having a less than happy marriage, and overcoming severe depression from abuse. It's a criticism of how misguided the view on mental illness was at the time, especially when it had to do with women. Works Cited “Charlotte (Anna) Perkins (Stetson) Gilman.” Feminist writers. Detroit: St. James Press, 1996. Literature Resource Center. Network. January 29, 2014 Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The yellow wallpaper." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Fifth ed. Ed, John Clifford and John Schilb. Boston, Massachusetts: Bedford, 2012. 955-968. Print.Oakes, Elizabeth H. “Gilman, Charlotte Perkins.” American writers, American biographies. 2004. Facts on File, Inc. Web. January 29. 2014.