What would you do if your partner kept you locked up inside a house to help “fix” your mental illness? Would you be to blame for not leaving or is blame dependent on circumstance? In The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an unnamed narrator, later called Jane, is driven to madness by her speculated postpartum depression that was left essentially untreated due to the misogyny that was a norm at the time. In the era this story takes place in (the 1920s), women such as Jane were often given broad diagnoses such as “nervous depression”, which Jane was said to have, and got “treated” through a rest cure. A rest cure would consist of a few nature walks and no work or activity other than that. The people given these treatments were not …show more content…
The leasing of the home was a part of the rest cure he imposed on his wife for her mental troubles. His wife, Jane didn’t like the rest cure and believed it wasn’t helpful to her, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (Text 1). Clearly, Jane figured that being cooped up in her summer home would not do her any good mentally, but her husband still kept her locked in the house. Even though his “rest” cure was obviously not helping, he still stuck with it and would not admit he was wrong, likely to save his ego. Throughout the entire story, Jane’s husband John never listened to what she wanted and actually actively went against her wishes often. This is apparent when Jane mentions to her husband how she feels about her treatment and such and his response is “‘I beg of you, for my sake and for our child’s sake, as well as for your own, that you will never for one instant let that idea enter your mind! There is nothing so dangerous, so fascinating, to a temperament like yours. It is a false and foolish fancy. Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?’” (Text 1). It is fairly apparent by John’s response to his wife that he sees her as less than him and enjoys having a certain amount of power over her. Another good example of his dismissals of her is when she said she