Charlotte's Despondency (06:15) Charlotte lies awake at night and eats little. She keeps a first-person narrative journal and records her worries and growing paranoia. John leaves, but in his absence Jennie enforces the rest-cure.
Intellectual Life (06:05) John admonishes Charlotte for taxing her strength after she reads all afternoon. His active life as a doctor is contrasted to hers when she asks, "What on earth am I supposed to do with myself all day?"
Obsessions and Delusions (06:33) Obsessed with the wallpaper, Charlotte seeks to solve its "puzzle." She complains of an enduring smell that "creeps all over the house." Dr. Stock and John discuss cures for her hysterics.
Ironic Contrast (04:28) When John goes to town, Charlotte comes unravelled. Scenes of John's lecture on treatment of the mentally ill are contrasted with Charlotte's destruction of the room with the yellow wallpaper.