During the Victorian time period, a common cure for chronic fatigue, panic attacks, or depression was a treatment called “The Rest Cure”.  The rest cure was an aggressive rest therapy that involved complete bedrest and isolation.  This cure was founded in 1872 by S. Weir Mitchell, and at first was used to treat soldiers with battle fatigue, such as PTSD from war.  Before beginning the treatment, the doctor would promise the patient a positive cure and tell them that their feelings, questions, and concerns about the treatment must be disregarded.  Then when the treatment began the patient had to completely rest, meaning they had to stay in bed and not move for a long period of time.  Even little things such as sitting up or clenching teeth was advised against.  Patients who stayed in hospitals had nurses do everything for them, from feeding to bathing, and they also were given massages and electro and hydro therapy to offset the discomfort from immobility for so long.  Once the patient began feeling better physically from the bedrest, the next part of treatment was the psychological aspect.  S. Weir Mitchell, the founder of the rest cure, figured to cure the patient, they would need to regain control of their emotions and avoid any loss of self-control, which he believed was the cause of the nervous disorders in the first place.  This part of the treatment was called “moral reeducation” (Bassuk 249).  With this combination of physical rest and emotional therapy, Mitchell believed that the rest cure was a valid cure for many mental disorders.  Although the rest cure was prescribed by doctors quite often to cure different mental disorders during the Victorian time period, this was short-lived because by the turn of the century, the same doctors and clinics found the “dangers of going to bed” (Sharp 796).  These studies showed that the prolonged inactivity only worsened the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.  Simply being told to “go home and rest” was not solely a good response to the patients symptoms.  Once these studies were founded, and the effectiveness of the rest cure was questioned, many writers during this time period researched and wrote about it.  Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist and writer of short stories in the late 1800s.  Her short writing, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” tells her story as a severely depressed woman experiencing nervous exhaustion.  She sought treatment from her husband, John, who was a psychiatrist and prescribed her with the rest cure.  The historical information about the rest cure along with Gilman’s personal experience with the rest cure helped in shape her writing of “The Yellow Wallpaper”. 

One reason the rest cure is not an effective method for curing a patient with nervous exhaustion or fatigue is because they are ordered to stay bed and to not leave their room, which would make any person go crazy.  This especially accounts for Gilman who hated the room she was subject to stay in.  She stated, “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 a pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings; but John wouldn’t hear of it” (300).  Although Gilman hated the room, she was basically trapped in it.  Gilman’s chronic fatigue and depression got even worse because she was clearly uncomfortable with the room she was in.  On multiple occasions throughout the story, she describes looking out the window and wishing she could go outside to the beautiful path and walk.  Or she observes other people walking outside, longing to be able to do the same.  Unlike the rest cure, if she had been told to leave her room and perhaps go on walks everyday to change her scenery, that could have helped her feel better and not feel so trapped every day.

Another reason the rest cure did not help many patients who were prescribed it, like Gilman, was because they were not allowed to interact with others and see any friends or family.  When Gilman was depressed, she longed to see her close family, as she describes her conversation with John, “I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia.  But he said I wasn’t able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there” (305).  This shows that John is fully controlling over her because even when she expresses that she wants to see her family, he strictly does not allow her to.  In addition, even though he says she can see her family once she gets better, throughout the story he makes her feel as though she will never get better.  Therefore, he will most likely never let her see other people.  Although a method of the rest cure is to isolate yourself so that you can focus on yourself, no socialization can make people feel even more depressed.  Especially in Gilman’s case, seeing family would have definitely helped her cure her fatigue and depression because she clearly expresses that seeing her family would lift her spirits.  Overall, isolation is not a good method for curing depression and especially did not help in Gilman’s case. 

In addition, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman illuminated that during her treatment, men both imprisoned her and treated her with intolerable cruelty.  This is showed by John’s actions towards her.  For example, John did not listen to Gilman when she told him that she felt that the treatment was ineffective, and says, “It is so hard to talk with John about my case, because he is so wise, and because he loves me so” (305).  This relationship reminds me of an abusive relationship, not because John physically abuses her, however emotionally, he takes full control over her.  Gilman, especially due to the fragile state her mental health is in, relies on John and believes everything John says and thinks, and would never disobey him.  She also believes that he loves her so much.  However if he loved her so much he would actually listen to her feelings about her “case” and try to help her instead of totally blocking her out.  In addition, John shows more signs of imprisoning Gilman and treating her with cruelty by the way he always talks down to her.  He refers to her as a “little girl” or “child.”  This makes Gilman feel even more inferior to John as well.  John’s actions towards Gilman while she was trying to recover was cruel and did not help her get better.  This was one of the factors that worsened her depression.  By prescribing Gilman with the rest cure, John had complete control over Gilman, and he took advantage of that. 

Overall, the rest cure, although used very often during the Victorian time period, is an ineffective way to treat mental illness.  It is shown from writings by both Bassuk and Sharp that the rest cure was an aggressive rest therapy that involved complete bedrest and isolation.  However, there were many dangers that were found from being prescribed this treatment, and it was ineffective.  In, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman found that this method did not work for her because she was not allowed to leave her room or see her family.  In addition, it is clear that her husband began treating her with cruelty because he knew she was weak and would listen to whatever he says.  Although throughout the story, the reader thinks that the rest cure is working and Gilman’s mental health is improving, in the end it is proven that it did not work for her and her depression and fatigue never got better.  Today, there are new methods of curing depression and chronic fatigue.  Although lightly resting may be suggested, there needs to be a balance between resting and exercising.  In addition, it is extremely important to interact with people who lift the patient’s spirits and make them feel better.  These things would have helped Gilman, along with other people prescribed with the rest cure, as opposed to her sitting in bed all day, not interacting with anyone or leaving her room.  Today, there are actual medications that cure depression and fatigue.  Had this medicine been around during Gilman’s time period, her life would have been very different and she could have cured her mental illness in the end. 
