Mental Illness in Literature: Case Studies of Sylvia Plath and Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Abstract

This study examines mental illness in literature, with a focus on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, the primary texts of the research, and develops similarities and personal connections between the authors and their mentally unstable main characters. The study investigates the biographical aspects and mental health of the deceased women and thoroughly analyzes the time period of each author to demonstrate whether or not social status disparities could have been a reason for their deteriorating mental health. Both women committed suicide, though their literary accomplishments and societal effects allow them to live on.