The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The beginning…• Psychiatry began in

Europe in the 1800s, but women’s suffrage was still a ways off.

A Woman’s place• In the 1800s, most

people believed that a woman’s place was in the home.

• A woman should be subordinate to her husband and dedicated to her maternal and domestic responsibilities.

Diagnosis• Nearly all Victorian doctors considered

women to be much more fragile and sensitive than men.

• Common diagnoses were “nervous breakdown” and neurasthenia, and the classic ‘female malady’ was hysteria.

• The most common prescription for this illness for an unmarried woman was to find a husband.

Neurasthenia(Nervous

Exhaustion)Freud included a variety of physical symptoms in this category, including fatigue,

dyspepsia with flatulence, and indications of intra-cranial pressure and spinal irritation

.

Treatment• From 1869,

neurasthenia became a "popular" diagnosis, expanding to include such symptoms as weakness, dizziness, depressed mood and fainting, and a common treatment was the rest cure, especially for women.

What happens if you (a woman) rebel?

• You may be declared insane and committed to an asylum, probably at the request of your husband or father.

• As a woman, you would have no right to contest the decision.

Socratic Seminars Ground Rules

1. Speak so that all can hear you.2. Listen closely.3. Speak without raising hands. 4. Refer to the text.

Socratic Seminars Ground Rules (continued)

5. Talk to each other, not just to the leader (no side conversations)6. Ask for clarification. Don’t stayconfused.7. Invite and allow others to speak.8. Consider all viewpoints and ideas.9. Know that you are responsiblefor the quality of the seminar.

Socratic Seminar-Ground Rules Cont.

• 10. Address one another respectfully• 11. Monitor “air time”• 12. Use sensitivity to take turns and

not interrupt others• 13. Be courageous in presenting your

own thoughts and reasoning, but be flexible and willing to change your mind in the face of new and compelling evidence

Pre-Seminar Preparation

• Before you come to a Socratic Seminar class, please read the assigned text (novel section, poem, essay, article, etc.) and complete the Socratic Seminar Prep Sheet.

• (If the Prep Sheet is not complete, you may not participate in the Socratic Seminar, and you will earn a zero.)

How am I graded?A Level Participant• ♦ Participant offers enough solid analysis, without prompting,

to move the conversation forward.

• ♦ Participant, through his/her comments, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the text.

• ♦ Participant has come to the seminar prepared, with notes and a marked/annotated text.

• ♦ Participant, through his/her comments, shows that he/she is actively listening to other participants.

• ♦ Participant offers clarification and /or follow-up that extends the conversation.

• ♦ Participant’s remarks often refer back to specific parts of the text.

How am I graded?B Level Participant• ♦ Participant offers solid analysis without prompting.

• ♦ Participant, through his/her comments, demonstrates a good knowledge of the text.

• ♦ Participant has come to the seminar prepared, with notes and a marked/annotated text.

• ♦ Participant shows that he/she is actively listening to others.

• ♦ Participant offers clarification and /or follow-up to other’s comments.

• ♦ Participant’s remarks sometimes refer back to specific parts of the text.

How am I graded?• C Level Participant

• ♦ Participant offers some analysis but needs prompting.

• ♦ Participant, through his/her comments, demonstrates a general knowledge of the text.

• ♦ Participant is less prepared, with few notes and no marked/annotated text.

• ♦ Participant is actively listening to others.

• ♦ Participant does not offer clarification and /or follow-up to other’s comments.

• ♦ Participant relies more upon his/her opinion and less on the text to drive comments.

How am I graded?• D or F Level Participant

• ♦ Participant offers little commentary.

• ♦ Participant comes to the seminar ill-prepared with little understanding of the text.

• ♦ Participant does not listen to others.

• ♦ Participant offers no commentary to further the discussion.

• ♦ Participant distracts the group by interrupting other speakers or by offering off topic questions and comments.

• ♦ Participant ignores the discussion and its participants.

Sources• http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/bro

ughttolife/themes/menalhealthandillness/womanandpsychiatry.aspx

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurasthenia