The narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper declares, “congenial work [. . .] would do me good. But what is one to do?” (par. 14–15). Notice places in the story where the patient’s views or wishes are contradicted, or where she is able to do something to change how she is treated. Write an essay bringing a historical perspective to this story’s representation of women’s work or ability to act, or “do.” The essay might include reference to S. Weir Mitchell’s rest cure or other treatments of women’s ill-ness in 1880–1920.
