The real-world translatability of psychiatric illness in“The Yellow Wallpaper,” therefore, comes across espe-cially clearly: the narrator (diarist) in the story finds her-self at that same “borderline of utter mental ruin” whereGilman herself felt stranded until she took matters intoher own hands and rejected her treatment, the respectedRest Cure.

his does not even begin to cover the identitiesthe diarist develops over the course of her illness journey,in which her conviction in her own experiences (“I amsick!” [ 3, p. 1]) wars with the minimizing label given byher physician husband (“there is really nothing the mat-ter with one but temporary nervous depression” [3, p. 1]):her self-perceived illness identity differs vastly from thatattributed to her by others, and this discrepancy, on topof the complications and issues tied to her other inter-secting identities, contributes to the frustration she feelsas a patient.7

representing how psychiatric patients perceive the worldas well as how others perceive them. Reader responsesevoked by such literature can, in turn, serve as potentmotivation to improve current research practices intreatment development.

When read with a focus on these character experiencesand perceptions, gothic literature provides an acces-sible, broad-ranging supply of case studies potentially

he mainbarrier to the diarist’s effective treatment was the factthat the conceited “physician of high standing” neverallowed his wife to voice her experience of her mentalillness nor of his treatments.

Hedid not recognize that the Rest Cure directly conflictedwith her perception of herself as a writer, for example, orher desire to act as an involved mother for her newbornchild; he did not recognize that his belittlement shiftedthe already-skewed husband-wife power dynamic furtherinto his favor, effectively silencing any protest the diaristmay have otherwise made. Rather, John trusted a stan-dard treatment that only accelerated his wife’s succumb-ing to madness, a treatment strikingly similar to the RestCure of dubious scientific backing and flimsy, assumedgeneralizability devised by Weir Mitchell—who is “justlike John... only more so!”

Here, a full spiral into psychosis is a preferable, moretriumphant fate over constantly being at odds with John’streatment. John had dismissed his wife’s condition—“there is really nothing the matter”— and gave ineffec-tive treatment (the “absolute” forbiddance to work, whichuncoincidentally mirrors Weir Mitchell’s Rest Cure) upuntil this point.

Despite her outward obeisance, she admits she“disagree[s] with their ideas.” Contrary to John’s instruc-tions, she believes “that congenial work, with excitementand change, would do me good.”

As “The Yellow Wallpaper” progresses, the powerdynamic remains evident: the diarist’s assessments ofherself and her inclination for certain treatments con-tinue to conflict with John’s own diagnoses and prescrip-tions.

Although the ineffective Rest Cure no longer exists,physicians’ dismissal of the diarist’s unique needs andidentity mirrors today’s paucity of intersectionality con-siderations in clinical research, with “intersectionality”referring to the idea that one’s various social identitiessuch as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and disabil-ity contribute to compounded systems of oppression thatuniquely shape individuals’ experiences, opportuni-ties, and access to resources (including and especially ina healthcare context) [ 12].