Vocabulary in The Yellow Wallpaper

A late-19th-century medical treatment for nervous or mental illness that required the patient to do nothing at all — no work, no reading, no stimulation — and simply rest, often for weeks or months.

A Victorian-era medical label applied almost exclusively to women, describing emotional instability or nervousness that doctors believed came from the uterus or weak female nerves rather than any real physical cause.

A vague 19th-century diagnosis describing anxiety, depression, or mental exhaustion, used when doctors could not identify a clear physical illness.

A large, grand house built in the American colonial architectural style, typically featuring symmetrical design, tall windows, and formal rooms, often old and somewhat run-down.

So deeply unpleasant or disgusting that it pushes you away and makes you want to avoid it entirely.

Causing a strong feeling of disgust or nausea; so offensive to the senses that it turns your stomach.

Burning slowly without a flame, producing a dull, dirty glow — here used to describe a yellow color that seems to give off a dim, sickly, suffocating light.

Easily upset, hurt, or irritated by things that would not normally bother a person; emotionally raw and quick to react.

Treating someone as though they are less intelligent or capable than you, often while pretending to be kind or helpful.

A type of tonic or medicine containing phosphoric acid compounds, prescribed in the 19th century to treat nervous exhaustion and weakness.

Liquid medicines or health drinks taken regularly in the 19th century to strengthen the body and nerves, often containing minerals, herbs, or alcohol.

A room in a house originally designed for young children to sleep and play in; here it is the large upstairs room the narrator and John use as their bedroom.

Marked with stripes or lines that look like the bars of a cage or prison window, creating a pattern that suggests confinement.

Barely visible or only dimly seen; so unclear or slight that you have to look hard to make it out.

The state of being deeply and firmly fixed in a situation or habit, making it very hard to change or escape.

Moving slowly on hands and knees close to the ground, the way a baby or an animal crawls, in a secretive or compulsive way.

Despite the efforts or opposition of someone; used to say that something happened even though another person tried to prevent it.

Escaped from a place or situation that was confining or trapping you; broke free from something that held you prisoner.

The narrow strip of wood running along the bottom of a wall where it meets the floor, used to cover the joint between the wall and the floor.

A long, narrow channel or rut worn into a surface by repeated friction or movement over the same path.

A fixed, false belief that a person holds with complete certainty even when reality clearly contradicts it, typically a symptom of serious mental illness.

An obsessive, consuming focus on one particular thing that a person cannot stop thinking about or pull their attention away from.

Officially orders someone not to do something, using authority or power to prevent it.

To officially order a specific medical treatment or course of action for a patient, as a doctor does when giving instructions for recovery.

A gradual decline or fall into a worse state, especially into mental illness or breakdown.