Health Sciences Library Hosts Exhibit on 19th Century Author and Work
Posted by momaxwell@wvu-ad.wvu.edu.February 13th, 2013
How do you handle the stresses of daily life? Some thrive on a non-stop schedule. Others take up a hobby, read, or seek out a few quiet moments to escape a hectic day.
A century ago, a doctor might diagnose a stress-laden woman with neurasthenia, or nervous exhaustion, and prescribe her months of isolation and rest. That diagnosis was the case for artist and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Her experience, referenced in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is the topic of a National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibit on display at the WVU Health Sciences Library through March 23. Consisting of six free-standing banners, “Literature of Prescription” is on display in the Library’s lobby.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman