Whaat do you make of the relationship between the narrator and her husband? In what ways is this relationship defined by the time period which the story is written?

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator's relationship with her husband, John, is definitely strained; the reader understands this because of the perspective from which the tale is told, as the narrator shares her frustrations and feelings of helplessness with the reader. While the couple's relationship is defined somewhat by the time period, a great deal of the dynamic emerges as a result of her husband's profession. Because of his "expertise," the narrator initially feels powerless against her husband's will, as she suggests early in the tale:

John is a physician, and perhaps—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)—perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.You see, he does not believe I am sick!And what can one do?If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency—what is one to do?

Not only does John believe he "knows better" as husband and therefore head of the household (during the time period), but his training also causes him to believe that his wife is not ill. Further complicating matters, John is a proponent of the "rest cure" which was developed by Silas Weir Mitchell as a means to treat neurological illnesses, particularly among women. The rest cure consisted of near-total isolation for the patient, who was confined to a bedroom (if not specifically to a bed). During the period of confinement, which could be as long as two months, the patient was supposed to rest and avoid any "strenuous" activities. According to Silas Weir Mitchell, "strenuous activities" consisted of reading, talking, and writing, all of which come up as forbidden within the short story. I've provided a link below to a brief synopsis of Mitchell and the rest cure.
As the story suggests, the rest cure was an ineffective way of treating those suffering from neurological disorders. The oppressive treatment causes the narrator, who is suffering specifically from postpartum depression, to slowly lose her mind. As the tale progresses, John pulls rank as both man of the household and her doctor in an effort to "fix" the narrator which, combined with the rest cure, causes her condition to grow worse and worse. In the end, she ends up breaking free of her husband's rule, but it is at the cost of her own sanity.
http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/restcure