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The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

585 Words3 Pages

In The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman, Gilman uses symbols to portray the situation of John and his wife, who's the narrator, after the arrival at their rental home. The theme represents the complexity of relationships coupled with inequitable decisions. Gilman discusses how the wallpaper led the wife to insanity, how her illness affected her mental and physical health, and how John tried to “help” his wife overcome her illness. To begin, Gilman discusses throughout the story how the wife became more and more interested in the wallpaper. This interest soon turns into determination and desire to decipher the wallpaper and its purpose because the elements within the wallpaper become increasingly more enticing. For instance, toward the beginning of the story she is disgusted …show more content…

It sticks horribly and the pattern just enjoys it! All those strangled heads and bulbous eyes and waddling fungus growths just shriek with derision!” All of the details and placement of the wallpaper somewhat drew the wife near and made her more curious to learn. Since she felt “trapped” in the house because of Scott 2 the rules of her treatment, the fascination and intense clarity of the woman within the painting jumped out at the wife. Secondly, the wife suffered from an illness which is indicated multiple times throughout the story. “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus”. This condition restricts her from any travel outside of the grounds or really even outdoors so her physical health is very limited. Mentally, she grows mad as the story progresses because the wallpaper relates to her sense of confinement and her rationality begins to disintegrate. The thirst for something new and different to discover is quenched as new details and patterns arise and intensify her interest. Lastly, John tried to “help” his wife overcome her illness though he didn’t realize all

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