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| https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Yellowwp_med.jpg |
The problem I have though is why he rented the home, to help me overcome my "hysteria." I have been telling John for awhile now that I am sick, but he refuses to believe it. He is constantly telling me that I am not sick, just suffering from nervous depression, with a slight hysterical tendency. When your husband is a physician in high standing, and he is telling you that you are not sick, what is one to do?
Because he believes I am just depressed and slightly hysterical, he has put me on the rest cure. While doing the rest cure I am not supposed to do any physical work, I am cannot have many interactions with people (John won't let me see my cousins), and I am not supposed to do any writing. If John had found out I wrote this letter, he would be mad at me. When he is someone of high standing though, what is one to do?
What drives me insane the most however is the yellow wallpaper in the room where John and I sleep. I never saw a worse paper in my life! I started to hate it the moment I saw it in our room. I have asked John to change the paper, but he doesn't see the need since the lease is only for a few months. I have asked John to let us sleep in the downstairs bedroom instead, but he says no and keeps telling me "you really are better, dear, whether you can see it or not." I don't feel any better though.
Please help me. I know John loves me so, but the longer I stay around this yellow wallpaper the sicker I feel. I have begun to see a woman behind the wallpaper, and she wants so desperately to get out. The wallpaper also has a pattern to it, and I am beginning to figure-out what it means. Please give me some advice of what I can do before I find myself creeping crazily around the room!
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| http://img01.deviantart.net/da71/i/2009/327/f/d/the_yellow_wallpaper_by_fit51391.jpg |
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Dear Wallpaper: Are you not a grown woman? Are you not able to make your own decisions? It sounds like your husband does love you, but at the same time your husband appears controlling. Consistently not allowing you to move bedrooms, see your cousins, or write are red flags to me that your husband is trying to control as much of your life as he can. You do not have to let him consistently tell you what to do. You need to stand firm and put you foot down sometimes letting your husband know that you are allowed to make your own decisions.
Although your husband is a physician, and although he says you are not sick, that does not mean that you aren't. You know your body and mind better than anybody else. If you think that you are sick, you have the right to seek treatment on your own. The symptoms you described regarding your interactions with the yellow wallpaper suggest that you probably have a psychological disorder. It is normal for the time in which you live for men to misrepresent a serious psychological illness as nothing more than hysteria, even doctors. If I were you I would seek a out psychiatrist to evaluate you for any illness or disorder.
As for the resting cure, it was proved an unsubstantiated cure. If you like writing, visiting people, and doing physical work, like gardening, do as much of it as you want. These activities will keep you mind sharp and occupied.
Just remember, even though your husband is a person in high standing, you still need to do what you feel is best for you. If your husband truly cares, he will allow you to make your own decisions. By doing this, the woman behind the yellow wallpaper should disappear and you will not have to worry about crazily creeping around the room.
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| Hyperphagia. The Yellow Wallpaper. 2016. Deviant Art. Web. 4 Mar. 2016. |
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Work Cited
"Annie's Mailbox." Arcamax Publishings. Arcamax.com, 2016. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Norton Anthology of American Literature.Ed. Julia Reidhead. 485-497. Print.
The lines "Are you not a grown woman?" and "Are you not able to make your own decisions?" are the best! A 21st century woman would NOT allow herself to be in that situation!
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