As is often the case with things that truly matter, mental illness is an issue which is widely misunderstood, and as such is frequently swept under the figurative rug to keep company with the other things people don’t want to talk about. Although in recent decades mental illness has moved closer to the forefront of public consciousness, it still carries a stigma attached as firmly as a barnacle to a rock. Mental illness is often defined as a weakness, a drawback, some kind of invisible taint or abnormality.

But it’s not. It’s totally normal, and people have been experiencing it and writing about it for years. The most successful pieces of literature based around mental health issues are not only semi-autobiographical, but also unafraid to get down and dirty with the reality of the situation. So here, for your reading pleasure, is my opinion on the writing of two women who got very, very real.

• Charlotte Perkins – Gilman: The Yellow Wallpaper.

First up, The Yellow Wallpaper. For those of you who have somehow not heard of this short story (forgiveness will be granted only to those living under actual rocks) I’ll give you a quick summary of the plot, in particular the treatment received by the main character, then I’ll describe in detail why this treatment was absolute nonsense.

Perkins – Gilman’s short tale is narrated by a young woman suffering from post - partum depression, and picks up as she is taken to the country under doctor’s orders. She has been prescribed ‘rest cure’ and her husband follows the doctor’s orders to the letter. However, his honest intentions are terribly misguided, as he allows his wife no stimulus to keep her mind occupied. She is even discouraged from writing, even though it is a hobby which has provided enjoyment for her in the past. She is confined to an upstairs room, which she supposes used to be a nursery. Devoid of any intellectual stimulation as she 'rests' she becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper, growing convinced that a woman is trapped behind it, begging to be freed. The narrator goes slowly mad, determined to free the woman trapped in the wallpaper. As her stay at the summer house comes to an end, she locks herself into the bedroom, intent on stripping away the last of the paper. Refusing to leave, she is eventually intruded upon by her husband, who faints upon seeing the state of her deterioration. She continues her circular progress about the room, murmuring and stepping over her husband's inert form each time she passes.

(Okay, so that wasn’t quite as quick as I intended it to be, but these things happen.)

Although less physically destructive than the well-known procedure trepanning (a surgical act in which a hole was drilled into the skull of a living human being to alleviate mental disorders) or the equally barbarous lobotomy (during which the prefrontal lobe of the brain would be poked and prodded at with a badly sanitised rod) Perkin’s – Gilman’s piece demonstrates just how destructive the prescription of the ‘rest cure’ as a treatment for ‘female hysteria’ could be. The author writes from experience, having herself suffered from depression, and received treatment from Dr Silas Weir Mitchell, a firm believer in the ‘rest cure,’ whose medical philosophy Perkins – Gilman hoped to change. Aside from launching an attack on the good doctor’s values and practice, the author also calls into question the attitude towards female mental health in general. Often attributed to hysteria caused by the wandering of the womb (if you can even believe that) the severity of women’s mental health issues were often underestimated. The ‘rest cure’ seems intended to give the sufferer of mental instability a chance to relax and unwind, to let her stress and anxiety just…float away. However, the reality of the situation is much less pleasant. This cure takes the idea of rest to the extreme, up to and including removing everything the patient finds pleasurable or interesting, giving her nothing to do. This cure takes away the aspects of life which make it worth living, a state of affairs bound to worsen any situation.

The root of Jane's tragedy lies within the era into which she was born. As a woman, she is immediately at a disadvantage, not permitted to make the decisions which will be pivotal to the trajectory of her life. It is likely her marriage was arranged, just as it is possible that marriage and childbearing were not her first priority. However, the society in which she lived forced those constraints upon her. That same society failed to be open-minded enough to allow her to work through her own problems, and instead treated her in the manner which they thought was best. This type of oppression is what leads Jane into instability and insanity, removing from her the hope of a future in which she can be content.

• Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar.

Although taking place in a vastly different era, Plath’s famous The Bell Jar narrates a sadly very similar story. By no means an easy read, Plath’s first and only novel was published in the UK under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, only a month before Plath’s death by suicide.

Although Plath tragically lost her struggle with her mental illness, the narrator, Esther Greenwood manages to overcome the darkness within her and goes on to lead a successful and fulfilling life. Esther manages to turn things around in, but it cannot be said that her personal road to recovery is easy. As Perkins – Gilman’s narrator suffers not only from poor mental health but also that stubborn stigma that comes with it, Esther too struggles to take back autonomy over her life in a male – dominated society.

After multiple failed suicide attempts, and many failed consultations with a male psychiatrist, Esther is referred to Dr Nolan, a female therapist. Dr Nolan takes the time to listen to Esther speak about her fears and come to a full understanding of what it is that bothers her young patient. Rather than immediately prescribing electroconvulsive therapy as a kind of go to cure-all, she establishes a bond with Esther, working to gain her trust and truly understand her frame of mind. She strives to get to the root of Esther's fears and combat them. She assuages Esther's fears about falling pregnant by referring her to a doctor who fits her for a diaphragm, and in doing so helps Esther regain the bodily autonomy she feels she has lost over the course of her breakdown. Although she does eventually prescribe electroconvulsive therapy, she assures Esther that the procedure will be carried out correctly and within the parameters of medical guidelines. She does not force this procedure on her patient as the male doctor did, but personally informs Esther of her intentions. Under the supervision of Dr Nolan, Esther actually finds that the therapy has a stabilizing influence on her.

Through Esther's narrative, Plath successfully addresses the female mental health stigma, demonstrating just how destructive mental conditions can be. She also pushes another agenda, making it clear that she is of the opinion that female mental health complications cannot be dealt with by a male-dominated system which cannot understand the female experience. As the condition of Perkins-Gilman's narrator worsens under the 'care' of her doctor and husband, so does Esther's under the male doctor she is referred to. Both authors pour a great deal of themselves into their respective tales, filling pages with not only the inner workings of their hearts, but also their minds. To give so much of oneself up to so many people is certainly a great sacrifice; there is a constant risk of exposure and judgement. But for these women this sacrifice was a necessary one, worth the trouble if it meant another victory in the fight against the female mental health stigma.