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Why do you think the author chose this point of view over other possibilities? Comment on the problem her choice creates for the realism at the end.

The author probably chose this point of view to show the slow descent into madness that the main character was experiencing.  The reader witnesses how frustrated the main character becomes with all the things her husband tries to do to "help" her through this depression.  As the story progresses, we notice that she becomes more and more upset and intense about the yellow wallpaper, but the shift is gradual. 

 The problem this creates for realism is that we wonder at the end where the madness began and what was actually true versus something she was experiencing only in her mind.  We almost feel "betrayed" as a reader because she had us convinced at the beginning that she was perfectly fine. 

 While this discrepancy may create some conflict in the reader's mind, it is one of the reasons this story is so great!