The English Concentration 
in the Liberal Studies Degree 

(1)  Define the Public Sphere and the Private Sphere, and the way in which the distinction between these two spheres is beginning to break down for women at the end of the nineteenth century.

(2)  Describe Dr. S. Weir Mitchell’s “rest cure” for women.  How is this rest cure an example of “patriarchal oppression”?

II.  Analysis

1.  The opening of the tale (pp. 725-726) provides the context for what is happening in the entire tale, and suggests a conflict within this context.  

• What is the narrator doing in this opening section (and thus throughout the tale)?  Where is she?  What activity is she involved with?  Why is this activity significant (consider the historical context)?
• What is the conflict that the narrator has with this activity?  Who is at the center of this conflict?

2.   What does the narrator’s husband do for  a profession?  Where does he go during the day? Where is he at night?  As you read the tale, trace the narrator’s activities when her husband is present and when he is absent.

3.  What is the relationship between the Wall Paper and the narrator’s activity?  Trace this relationship throughout the tale, especially as the image in the Wall Paper becomes more clear and as the tale progresses (hint, hint)  (see pages 728, 730-31, 733, 734-37).