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This short story—an important piece in early American feminist literature—sheds light on 19th century attitudes toward women with physical and mental illness. In this excerpt, the speaker details her bedroom, a place where her husband and doctors come to encourage her to health. Her ailment is vague; the emphasis is on what others—all men—think and say.

Amelia Bloomer was a woman who liked to think, live and even dress unconventionally, and she encouraged other people—particularly women—to do the same.