During the Victorian time period, a common cure for chronic fatigue, panic attacks, or depression was a treatment called “The Rest Cure.”  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. The rest cure was an aggressive rest therapy that involved complete bedrest and isolation for long periods of time.  Once the patient began feeling better physically from the bedrest, the next part of treatment was the psychological aspect.  Mitchell figured the patient would need to regain control of their emotions and avoid any loss of self-control (Bassuk 248).  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” (Sharpe 796).  These studies showed that the prolonged inactivity only worsened the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.  Once 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 and postpartum depression.  She sought treatment from her husband, John, who was a psychiatrist and prescribed her with the rest cure, however this method did not cure Gilman’s symptoms.  The historical information about the rest cure along with Gilman’s personal experience with it helped in shaping her writing of “The Yellow Wallpaper.”  This writing piece was groundbreaking during a time in which the rest cure was the only known cure for mental illnesses, and helped prove that it was ineffective.

One reason the rest cure is not an effective method for curing a patient with nervous exhaustion or depression 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 and John insisted that she could not move out of it.  This is because part of the rest cure was putting the patient’s mind at ease to make them not feel anxious.  It was believed that keeping the patient in one room would provide simplicity and stability to their mind (Bassuk 246).  Furthermore, on multiple occasions throughout the story, Gilman describes looking out the window and wishing she could go outside to walk on the beautiful path like the people she sees walking everyday.  This signifies that Gilman has a longing to break out of the trap she feels she is in, both mentally and physically, and be normal like other people.  Unlike the rest cure, if Gilman had been advised to leave her room and perhaps go on walks everyday to change her scenery and enjoy the beautiful path and the outdoors, she could have felt refreshed and less trapped.

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 family, as she expressed to 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).  Although a method of the rest cure is to isolate the patient so that they can focus on themselves, no socialization can worsen depression symptoms.  Especially in Gilman’s case, seeing family would have helped her because she clearly expresses that she misses them.  In addition, even though John states that Gilman can see her family once she gets better, throughout the story he makes her feel as though she is never improving.  For example, by saying that she would not be able to “stand it” being around her family reinforces to Gilman that she is too emotionally unstable to be around others.  According to Bassuk, a researcher of the rest cure, during treatment the patient had to stay in bed and not move for a long period of time.  Patients in hospitals were assisted anything they needed to do, from feeding to bathing, to prevent the usage of any energy (247).  The only thing they were supposed to do was rest.  Therefore, the idea of Gilman leaving her home and socializing with people sounds like a disaster to John, which is why he will never let her see other people. 

In addition, in, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman illuminates that during her treatment, men both imprisoned her and treated her with intolerable cruelty.  Specifically, John’s extreme power over her and disregard of her feelings is shown by his actions.  John does not listen to Gilman when she tells him that she feels that the treatment is ineffective.  She says, “It is so hard to talk with John about my case, because he is so wise, and because he loves me so” (305).  One reason why John does not listen to what Gilman expresses about her “case” is because typically at the beginning of rest cure treatment, the psychiatrist promises the patient a positive cure and tells them that their feelings, questions, and concerns about the treatment must be disregarded (Bassuk 247).  John disregards everything Gilman expresses to him because he is sure that the rest cure is effective.  Gilman, especially due to the fragile state her mental health is in, is basically brainwashed by John and instead of questioning the treatment, listens to everything John says.  She also believes that he loves her so much, however if he did love her he would actually listen to how she felt.  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 “little girl” and “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 knew that he had complete control over Gilman, and he took advantage of that. 

Overall, the rest cure was a common method for curing mental illnesses during the Victorian time period.  Writings by both Bassuk and Sharpe explain the beliefs behind the rest cure along with the intense steps doctors took to ensure the patient was heavily resting and was isolated from people.  However, there were many dangers that were found from being prescribed this treatment, and simply being told to “go home and rest” was not a good response to the patients symptoms.  In, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman found that this method did not work for her because she was not allowed to leave the room that she hated or see her family that she missed.  In addition, John treated her with cruelty because he knew she was weak and would listen to whatever he said.  Although throughout the story, the reader might think that Gilman’s mental health is stable and improving, the ending of the story proves that the rest cure did not help her nervous exhaustion and postpartum depression at all.  Writing, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” helped support the discovery that the rest cure was ineffective and opened the door to search for other ways to cure mental illnesses.  In Sharpe’s article, he also explains that today there are new methods for curing symptoms such as nervous exhaustion and depression.  Although lightly resting may be suggested, there needs to be a balance between resting and exercising (Sharpe 796).  In addition, it is extremely important to interact with people who lift the patient’s spirits to make them feel happier and loved.  These things would have helped Gilman and other people who were prescribed the rest cure during the late 1800s.  Today there are also medications that cure depression and fatigue.  Had this research and these medications been around during Gilman’s time period, her life would have been very different and her mental illnesses would not have taken over her life.
