I had this reading for LDST 101, but seeing it for the second time read a little bit differently, especially because I already knew generally what it was about, which allowed me to pin point a few quotes and ideas more easily. I knew that this was about how women tend to be silenced by men as the men use their positions of authority as validation. For example, John was a physician, and both the wife and John cite this as a reason for the wife to listen and obey John. Next, it was pretty obvious that the wife struggled with her mental health, and the reader got to follow this journey. On pages 5, the wife writes that it was a “great effort to think straight”, obviously showing her mental health struggle, but she is silenced by John. Furthermore, John even brings in the child as extra reason and weight to have the wife comply. John asks her to behave for “his and the child’s sake” using the child as leverage for getting the wife to comply.

With all of this struggle, we see the wife’s mental health really deteriorate as she begins to see the wallpaper move and take new shapes. When she says. “I am feeling ever so much better” on page 8, this is because her mind has been so significantly distorted by being stuck figuratively and literally by the restrictions her husband places on her. This story aims to discuss some stigma around mental health, and also touches on some gender inequality and restrictions in doing so.