Charlotte Gillman was a recipient of one of the most controversial practices in the history of psychology, S. Weir Mitchell’s “rest cure.” In her semi-autobiographical account, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, she details the experience of her asylum where people would attempt to cure her of her postpartum depression. The “rest cure” not only drives Gillman’s entire story, but an in depth analysis of the process reveals the hardships and discrimination women endured during this treatment.

The treatment was originally designed for neurasthenics, a broad term encompassing all non-psychotic mental emotional disorders like the depression Gilman suffered from. This procedure was almost exclusively underwent by women and had a very specific, strange process with:

…Three core elements: isolation, rest, and feeding, with electrotherapy and massage added to counteract muscle atrophy… The patient was instructed to lie in bed for 24 hours each day, sometimes for months at a time, with a special nurse who would sleep on a cot in the room, feed her, and keep her mind from morbid thoughts by reading aloud or discussing soothing topics. Visits from family and friends were forbidden. The day was punctuated by electrotherapy and massage, sponge baths with a “rough rub” using wet sheets, and frequent feedings. The diet consisted of milk alone for the first week, or, if milk was not tolerated, 18 or more raw eggs per day. Detailed dietary instructions were also provided for the obese patient, in those days the exception rather than the rule. The patient would pass into a state of placid contentment. (Martin)

After this process was complete and the patient became restless, doctors would gradually reintroduce exercise and communication with family and friends until she felt herself “rehabilitated” and then would return back to a normal, womanly lifestyle. The roots of this cure came in Mitchell’s belief that when women started thinking to much or doing too much “brain work” as he called it, would distract the women from her house work and chores. At the time, if a woman was not managing the household, she was not doing her job. The process described above is the exact same one that Gilman endured during her treatment and in modern times, it is easy to see why such a process would drive a woman, or any active/upbeat for that matter, to the brink of insanity and cripple them mentally.

Mitchell was also well aware of the psychological manipulation that went into this practice. His success lied in obtaining trust from the patient and getting agreement or consent from the patient without objection. Mitchell was said to be very charismatic, and he received an impressive quantity of letters from his female patients. His charming personality opened him up to be domineering at times and some of his practices were rather harsh and unusual. These tactics included “promoting” exercise by driving women far from home and drop them off, forcing them to walk back and getting patients out of bed by threatening to get in with them. Other practitioners of the rest cure noted that active, intellectual women do not do so well under tactics meant to numb them and render them unable to think or do things for themselves. Perhaps this is why the mainly self-educated artist, writer, and performer found her treatment unsuccessful. As seen through numerous encounters in the story, Gillman’s husband/doctor talk down to her in a childlike and subordinating fashion, which clearly infuriates her, as she just wants to be treated as an adult and an equal. He refers to her as “little girl”, “darling”, and “dear” throughout the story and whenever she asks if they are going to go home or asks a question, he merely deflects it and continues to treat her as a lesser, not as an adult or a wife. This represents the duality of the treatment and being a woman during this time, Gillman is not only facing discrimination because of the treatment, but also because she is a woman. 

Mitchell’s rationale behind the whole process was that removing a woman from the usual surroundings of the average household, he would break up the “the whole daily drama of the sick-room, with its little selfishnesses and its craving for sympathy and indulgence (Stiles).” This, he further explains, is not only beneficial to the patient, but also others around her as they no longer have to deal with her on the homefront. This point alone can summarize the misogynistic nature of Mitchell’s practice and show why the practice proved to be so traumatizing for a feminist in this era. Mitchell would most likely refer to patients such as Gillman to be particularly selfish and he deemed the only way to cure such hysterical women was to; “substitute the firm kindness of a well-trained hired nurse” with someone who would not humor the patient in every manner of do their every whim, making the process that much more stressful for someone forced from their family and home to endure this strange procedure.

Charlotte Gillman was an active feminist and pushed for equal intellectual and economic rights for women. She said that her three months spent with Mitchell put her on the edge of mental ruin. The tactics employed by users of the rest cure were meant to infantilize and confine the patient, and for an active woman such as Gilman, this was maddening and lead to her leaving from the rehabilitation facility and her writing of “The Yellow Wallpaper” which shows just how unorthodox and upsetting this technique can prove to be for some. 

When Gillman wrote, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, in order to put her situation into context, she made her husband and her doctor the same person. Gilman felt that both men manipulated her and crippled her artistic personality during the time she underwent treatment.  “John is a physician, and perhaps—I wouldn’t say it to a living soul of course, but this dead paper, and a great relief to my mind—perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.” (Writing on Women Writers) They are condescending toward her and treat her like a child, which is something she could not accept. Gilman is also able to create a victimizing tone to the story, especially through her description of the room. “I don’t like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs, that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the windows, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings; but John wouldn’t hear of it” even though she hates the room, John is in charge in this situation. The room she ends up staying in is described as, “…a big airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunlight galore. It was nursery first, and then playroom and gymnasium, I should judge, for the windows are barred for little children and there are rings and things in the walls.” (WOWW) Even the room described is childlike and degrading for a grown woman to inhabit. 

The cure also proved to be an effective strategy in influencing traditional gender roles. By placing female patients in bed and limiting both physical and mental activity, Mitchell ensured his female patients would stay in their “proper” sphere. Mitchell believed that intellectuality in women was bad for reproduction and overall health, and encouraged his patients to avoid getting jobs or studying for a prolonged period of time. Mitchell is quoted as saying, “She (woman) is physiologically other than the man (Stiles).” A man who makes a statement like that is certainly not one Charlotte Gillman would get along with.

Mitchell’s rest cure sparked a fire inside Mrs. Gillman to expose him for his destructive and subordinating attitude and actions towards women. The struggles she describes in the story can be easily identified with after studying Mitchell and the methods of rehabilitation he employed and it becomes easy to see how this process nearly drove her insane. Gillman was able to take her experience in rehabilitation and her status as an active supporter of feminism to craft prose that accurately portray the evils this cure brings and the suppression of women in this era.
