The Yellow Wallpaper

This story has been quite a challenge for me thus far; I perceive it in two different ways. Although I do not know if what I am getting out of the story is correct or not, I do find it quite intriguing none the less. It is absolutely glorious in description; the sheer imagery grabs you and thrusts your imagination into that English type mansion.
I think that she is suffering from postpartum depression and her husband John and her brother don’t realize that depression isn’t something that may be cured with isolation. John only wants what is best for his wife; therefore he tries to protect her from everything. His sister stays with them to help out with the baby and housework, allowing her to rest as much as possible. The problem with all of this is that it had the complete opposite effect of their good intentions. People with depression can get worse when isolated and not allowed to get out and about once in a while. You would begin to feel like a caged animal if you were not depressed, so compounding inactivity and isolation is a horrible combination!
The story is wrapped around the wallpaper in the bedroom, but it goes much deeper than that. I feel that the wallpaper is the symbolism about what is going in inside of her head and in her emotions. The comment about the paper “slaps you in the face, knocks you down, and tramples upon you. It is like a bad dream”. This comment says it all when it comes to depression and the thoughts that go along with it, especially postpartum depression. It is as though the wallpaper is able to bring to her the emotions that she is feeling come to life, even though it is an object, it depicts her.
I think that the depression got the best of her and lead to greater mental issues, possibly paranoia and/or Schizophrenia. Due to the disorganized speech and erratic thoughts and writings the closer it gets to the end of the story makes me feel like this is her escalation into her deepest mental illness state. She clearly gets progressively worse as the story goes on, but John is blind to this progression, he believes that she is “flourishing.” This story also brought to mind that it was all a delusion and she was actually in a mental institution, but I am having trouble getting enough information to prove that, so I can’t justify reacting to the story from that angle. Even though I am confused a little with the story in general, it really has made me think and relate with the character, I just wish she could have received the proper treatment instead of going through all of the insanity and isolation