Laing's Theory of the Divided Self is clearly at work in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”. In Gilman’s narrative, we see the struggle one faces mentally. This struggle is between living according to society and living according to the identity one desires. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the doctor’s wife is going through a nervous disorder that is claimed to be schizophrenia in her case. We find out that her name is Jane but she has escaped Jane, so she has escaped herself. We learn this from the line that says “in spite of you and Jane”. There is a set role that she is expected to obey in society in order to be considered “normal” but she experiences a split sense of self where there is one part of her that wants to be set free. In order to be free, you need to go crazy. Crazy is really just being different. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the character has shed Jane, which is being healthy, normal, and sane, so she has also shed this cultural ideology. This is how she became “crazy”. In Laing’s Theory of the Divided Self, this is explained. When people are faced with this struggle of having an expected identity that is different from what they perceive of themselves, the “alternatives are to either give up the parental approval and caretaking they need to survive, in order to be truly themselves, or to give up their own sense of their identity and comply with parental demands”. In some people, their response is to lose their sanity and go “crazy”. But what is crazy? How do we categorize it and how do we consider people to be called crazy? It is just being different. It is going outside the circle of the expected norms of society and the set roles our families have installed in us. It is “breaking through the ceiling of the tunnel into what is considered insanity”, as Laing says. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, she has broken through that ceiling. Her expected role was that of a wife and mother. But what she wants to do is to write and think freely. She says that she “feels nervous” around her baby. It may not be that she is actually feeling nervous but this may mean that she does not feel as if this person society wants her to become is who she truly is. She does not see herself being what a mother should be to her baby.
Liang also mentions an important factor in his “Theory of the Divided Self”. This factor is family resistance. It is very apparent how much control and influence this has on each and every single person and it is clearly seen in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Liang says "there is concerted family resistance to discovering what is going on, and there are complicated strategems to keep everyone in the dark." Sometimes, we want to believe in something so much that we begin to ignore the problems that may arise. Parents want their children to be the best that they can be and they plan out their lives for them. They are sometimes blinded to the truth of what their child may be in life or the path they choose. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John, the husband, refuses to acknowledge his wife’s opinions and thoughts about certain issues. He tells her he doesn’t want her “giving in to such fancies” and continues to live on forcing her to believe she has a mental condition that can only be treated if she does what he tells her. He really does not know how much his wife wants to write and how many emotional battles she faces every day. But I feel that he does know but he just is too afraid to admit there may be a deeper problem due to what society will make of it.
This is exactly what happens day after day. We are all encouraged to express ourselves and be who we are and all that sweet talk. But really, it’s a bunch of meaningless words that people say to get the day going. No matter what anyone says, we are all enslaved to the tunnel of sanity that our society has built. If we do break through that ceiling, we are considered crazy and insane. It is a sad concept to realize but it is the truth.
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