Notes

Dr. Bernstein states that although it is important to know the authors background, you can't limit their reasons for their writings to their background. As she reads from the article, she reads that the author had been involved in the same situation she wrote about in her story. In her article (according to Dr. Bernstein), she says that the advise the doctor had given her (rest, limited contact with others, never using her creative skill again) is what drove her to the mental breaking point in a few months. Also in her article she felt like the only way for her to get better was to work and be around others. The author herself sent her story "The Yellow Wallpaper" to her doctor and he never responded, although a few years later she heard that he had changed his treatments after reading her story. An important quote that author Gilman mentioned in her article was that she did not intend for the story to drive people crazy, but instead she had intended for it to save those from being driven crazy. I found this very important because she obviously knew what helped and wanted people to realize that staying alone in solitude does not help anyone.