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Grace Gilman Biography & Facts

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (; née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, advocate for social reform, and eugenicist. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her works were primarily focused on gender, specifically gendered labor division in society, and the problem of male domination. She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story "The Yellow Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis. Early life Gilman was born on July 3, 1860, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Mary Fitch Westcott and Frederic Beecher Perkins. She had only one brother, Thomas Adie, who was fourteen months older, because a physician advised Mary Perkins that she might die if she bore other children. During Charlotte's infancy, her father moved out and abandoned his wife and children, and the remainder of her childhood was spent in poverty. Since their mother was unable to support the family on her own, the Perkinses were often in the presence of her father's aunts, namely Isabella Beecher Hooker, a suffragist; Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin; and Catharine Beecher, educationalist. Her schooling was erratic: she attended seven different schools, for a cumulative total of just four years, ending when she was fifteen. Her mother was not affectionate with her children. To keep them from getting hurt as she had been, she forbade her children from making strong friendships or reading fiction. In her autobiography, The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Gilman wrote that her mother showed affection only when she thought her young daughter was asleep. Although she lived a childhood of isolated, impoverished loneliness, she unknowingly prepared herself for the life that lay ahead by frequently visiting the public library and studying ancient civilizations on her own. Her father's love for literature influenced her, and years later he contacted her with a list of books he felt would be worthwhile for her to read. Much of Gilman's youth was spent in Providence, Rhode Island. What friends she had were mainly male, and she was unashamed, for her time, to call herself a "tomboy". Her natural intelligence and breadth of knowledge always impressed her teachers, who were nonetheless disappointed in her because she was a poor student. Her favorite subject was "natural philosophy", especially what later would become known as physics. In 1878, the eighteen-year-old enrolled in classes at the Rhode Island School of Design with the monetary help of her absent father, and subsequently supported herself as an artist of trade cards. She was a tutor, and encouraged others to expand their artistic creativity. She was also a painter. During her time at the Rhode Island School of Design, Gilman met Martha Luther in about 1879 and was believed to be in a romantic relationship with Luther. Gilman described the close relationship she had with Luther in her autobiography: We were closely together, increasingly happy together, for four of those long years of girlhood. She was nearer and dearer than any one up to that time. This was love, but not sex ... With Martha I knew perfect happiness ... We were not only extremely fond of each other, but we had fun together, deliciously ... Letters between the two women chronicles their lives from 1883 to 1889 and contains over 50 letters, including correspondence, illustrations and manuscripts. They pursued their relationship until Luther ended the relationship in order to marry a man in 1881. Gilman was devastated and detested romance and love until she met her first husband. Overcoming personal challenges "Rest cure treatment" was a medical treatment popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries primarily for women suffering from symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, and depression. The rest cure was developed by Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, a neurologist, in the late 19th century. The treatment typically involved a strict regimen of bed rest, isolation from mental and physical stimulation, limited social interaction, and a highly regulated diet. Patients were often confined to bed for weeks or even months at a time, with minimal physical activity and intellectual stimulation. the treatment was controversial and had mixed results. While some patients reported improvement in their symptoms, others experienced worsening mental health and physical debilitation due to prolonged inactivity and social isolation. It is now considered outdated and potentially harmful in many cases. Perkins-Gilman married Charles Stetson in 1884, and less than a year later gave birth to their daughter Katharine. Already susceptible to depression, her symptoms were exacerbated by marriage and motherhood. A good proportion of her diary entries from the time she gave birth to her daughter until several years later describe the oncoming depression that she was to face. After nine weeks, Gilman was sent home with Mitchell's instructions, "Live as domestic a life as possible. Have your child with you all the time ... Lie down an hour after each meal. Have but two hours' intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live." She tried for a few months to follow Mitchell's advice, but her depression deepened, and Gilman came perilously close to a full emotional collapse. Her remaining sanity was on the line and she began to display suicidal behavior that involved talk of pistols and chloroform, as recorded in her husband's diaries. By early summer the couple had decided that a divorce was necessary for her to regain sanity without affecting the lives of her husband and daughter. During the summer of 1888, Charlotte and Katharine spent time in Bristol, Rhode Island, away from Walter, and it was there where her depression began to lift. She writes of herself noticing positive changes in her attitude. She returned to Providence in September. She sold property that had been left to her in Connecticut, and went with a friend, Grace Channing, to Pasadena where the recovery of her depression can be seen through the transformation of her intellectual life. Along with many women during the late 19th century, Perkins-Gilman dealt with the trauma of the rest cure treatment due to the lack of societal attitudes, limited understanding of mental health, and the authority of the medical profession. However, as awareness and understanding of mental health improved over time, the rest cure fell out of favor, recognized as an outdated and potentially harmful approach to treatment. Adulthood In 1884, she married the artist Charles Walter Stetson, after initially declining his proposal because her intuition told her it was not the right thing for her. Their only chil.... Discover the Grace Gilman popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Grace Gilman books.