The Yellow Wallpaper

During the late 1800s, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell’s rest cure was prescribed to many American women who were suffering from mental health problems. Although the treatment was intended to improve the mental health of women, the rest cure actually exacerbated deteriorating mental states. Because the rest cure involved isolating women and insisting that they spend their waking hours in relative confinement, with little to do except to eat a milk-based diet and sleep, it became symbolic of the patriarchy, a system primarily interested in ensuring that women remain powerless under the dominion of men.

In the context of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the rest cure—administered by the narrator’s doctor husband who addresses his wife as “little girl” (139)—denies the narrator the opportunity to see friends and family and perhaps worse, the opportunity to exercise her intellect with her work as a writer. The narrator complains of anxiety, as evidenced by her inability to spend much time with her infant son, and a sort of nervousness. Her experience with the rest cure drives her completely mad. Ironically, the narrator speaks repeatedly with her husband about seeing members of her community and moving to a room in the house that enables her to enjoy her surroundings. The narrator clearly knows what will make her feel better, but her husband refuses to give her power over her own decisions. The consequences of his repeated dismissals are serious as the narrator completely loses her grip on reality and experiences a mental breakdown while in his care.