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Is it possible for someone, of a good mental state, to go insane through isolation? In the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman begins with the introduction of the narrator and her husband, John, who also happens to be her doctor. John has just diagnosed his wife with a mental illness. In order to help her recover, he rents a summer house so his wife has some tranquility, in doing this, he has …

…John has been trying to help, but his actions proved futile. Although he may have had good intentions in the beginning of the story, he is still responsible for the deteriorated mental state of his wife. Later in the story it was apparent that John did not want his wife to recover from her mental "slip," instead he would have rather her staying mentally stable. Perhaps to allow himself more liberty than he already had.