Also, I didn't think about the time it was written. But after reading my classmates' opinions on the story and doing a bit of research online, I went back and reread it and realized that it's pretty confusing where its location is. Is he really on vacation? Or is he really in a mental hospital? It has been suggested that she suffered from postpartum depression, and after reading this story several times, I realized that it could very well be her illness. She had recently had a baby. “It's lucky that Mary is so good with the baby. What a dear child!” (p. 393) When this story was written, postpartum depression was unheard of. Symptoms of PPD include sad mood, sleep disturbances, loss of energy, thoughts of death or suicide, and feelings of rejection. The narrator has experienced everything