As time passes by, society changes along with the roles of men and women. Stereotypes and relationships of and between then man and woman have been broken and refined. In the late nineteenth century however, the boundaries of a man and woman were definite where there were certain actions and emotions that were expected out of each sex. Those who also exhibited signs of mental illness were also disregarded which lead to worse outcomes. Women in the 1890’s were often treated as children due to their gender, which prevented any progression from their declining mental conditions. 

There were certain actions that belittled the narrator which could have made her seem more of a child than a wife. Between John and the narrator, the association between the both of them differed greatly than of a marital relationship.  The narrator specifies a moment where she remembers “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” Having a large disassociation with your partner, and being able to laugh at your lover is very degrading, which puts the narrator into the position of a child. A woman’s role at this point is very stereotypical and defined by the man, which is worsened if the woman is in an ill state, as Rosenberg states, “Weaker in body, confined by menstruation and pregnancy, she both physically and economically dependent upon the stronger, more forceful male, to whom she necessarily looked up to with admiration and devotion,” (338) With women idolizing men and also being limited by money and strength, there was very little they could do in their power to go against any of what the men believed was right for the women. And so, if they were treated as a child, they were to remain treated as a child until the man deemed that it was not the answer for the illness anymore. 

John and the narrator’s relationship resembled more of a father-child interaction rather than husband-wife, leading to the narrator having false perceptions of her mental illness. Due to her sex, the narrator’s concerns for her mental state were considered invalid because she was a woman.  Parents have a tendency to shield their children from the cruel truth and his actions resembled more of a father figure where he would deny any mentions of the narrator’s illness around her. John did so when “he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures,” (Gilman). Throughout the narrator’s time in this house, John would treat her as his child rather than his wife. When an “older” and “father-like” figure belittles a problem and ignores any mentions of mental illness, the child is then lead to believe that they do not have any signs of that illness either.  During this time period the topic of mental illness in women were often denied. Wood also claims that “ … they did not talk of themselves as sick; they did not define themselves through sickness, and their society apparently minimized rather than maximized their ill health, whatever its actual extent,” (pg. 26). This proves that they had no idea of the conditions they were in. Even though the narrator was knowledgeable of her illness, she was not completely aware of her actual symptoms and very mislead by John. 

The attitude that John had towards the narrator as a woman also contributed to the decline of her mental health. With the mindset that women were only sick because they were women was how most physicians approached a situation like this. John, being a physician, dismissed most of the complaints that the narrator had such as “I don’t like our room a bit. I wanted… But John would not hear of it.” Ignoring requests and anything that the narrator had to say, more often put her in a situation of a child whose opinions were dismissed. Being in that position, the nervousness that the narrator possessed was often disregarded just like many other women during this time period who also had this illness. Wood confirms where “The difference was inevitable, because medical analysis of a woman began and ended with consideration of an organ unique to her, namely her uterus. Here, ... medical reasons to female nervous complaints are indicative of nineteenth-century American attitudes not only toward disease and sexuality in general but, more significantly, toward feminine seuxal identity in particular.” The definition of being a woman was very harsh in the eyes of society because there was no cure in being a woman. Therefore, John’s attitude towards the narrator not only depreciates her as woman to a child, but also prevents the narrator’s mental state to get any better. 

Within the journal of the narrator, she mentions a large immovable bed which is a symbol for sex for both a man and a woman, is seen as anything but that through the narrator’s eyes. During John’s visits, he would lay upon the bed with the narrator only for a small amount of time. There would be no moment of intimacy, or sign of an actual marital relationship. The narrator remembers “And dear John… laid me on the bed, and sat by me and read to me till it tired my head.” Although there was a sense of a loving relationship, John reads the narrator to bed, which mimics the act of a father reading to a child at bedtime. The lack of skinship can be very detrimental to a women’s health. In her paper, Rosenberg emphasized, “These writers accepted sexual activity after puberty as both normal and necessary; though all assumed that an intrinsically limited quantity of vital force might be depleted through excess, all assumed a s well that physiological functions unfulfilled could be pathogenic,” (pg. 28). Therefore, the absence of sex for a woman can lead to a sickness, furthermore, hysteria. 

With this bed still in mind, it was also described as immovable which also symbolized the narrator not being able to get better. “This bed will not move!” exclaims the narrator which signifies the entire movement of the narrator’s health, relationship, and actions. Her health is not able to get any better and that is because of her relationship with John where he will not allow her to think any further of her illness. Being immobile and deprived of any actions including thinking will not do any good to the mind where the narrator explained “John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition.” These conditions are familiar to what is said as the rest cure which Wood mentions “the patient was removed from her home, and allowed to see no one except the doctor and a hired nurse. Confined to her bed flat on her back, she was permitted neither to read, nor, in some cases, even to rise to urinate” (pg 31). This did very little to help the mental state of the narrator. If anything, it worsened her condition and prevented any progression of her illness. 

The relationship between men and women, and the childish treatment of the women in the late nineteenth century denied any advancement in their mental health. As women were continuously degraded during this time period, they were not able to establish relationships that were able to help them if they showed signs of any mental illness. The stereotypes of the man and women did very little to help them along their situation. Along with the pressure of those stereotypes, men will also implement the treatments that they believe will help the women. With all this “help” they received, the women rarely became well and were cured of their illness. Generations later, it is more comforting now to know that these stereotypes and relationships are not idolized. 
