Social setting
The story is set in 19th century society focusing on aspects related to gender roles and the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders.
At that time, it was commonly considered that women were weaker than men, which in turn led to women having very little freedom of choice. They had no right to vote and working was rarely an option. They were expected to marry and tend to domestic life and their husbands and children.
The narrator in the story illustrates such a situation. Having given birth recently, she is most likely suffering from post-partum depression. However, her husband diagnoses her with depression linked to hysteria. At that time, hysteria was generally thought to be unique to women, and its analysis and treatment were therefore strongly gendered. Hysteria was thought to show the inherent weakness of the female mind and body.
The husband’s attitude is representative of the typical patriarchal attitudes of men during that time. He probably does care for his wife and loves her, but because he considers her the weaker sex, he treats her as such. Being a physician, he presumes to know what’s wrong with his wife and the right treatment for her,the rest cure, even if he does not listen to her.
The rest cure refers to a concept created by S. Weir Mitchell, an American specialist in nerve disorders. The “rest cure” became a typical form of treatment for hysteria and nervous breakdowns in women. This is why the narrator is not allowed to write or to make any effort, and having an imaginative mind was seen as something dangerous for her. The short story is clearly critical of the concept. Charlotte Perkins Gilman believed that subjecting a depressed woman to isolation and retreat can bring nothing good. She believed such a woman does not need to rest and be secluded; she needs to occupy her mind and be active to overcome her state.
