Passage Analysis #1 Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman, in this particular passage of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” explores the theme of female oppression through imagery and symbolism of the wall-paper. These elements of literature make the wall-paper come to life for both the narrator and the audience. “The front pattern does move”(55) personifies the wall-paper to be so animate and physically restraining that the woman behind it must shake it to attempt to escape. The italicization of “does” serves to further affirm that the wallpaper exhibits restrictive human-like behaviors - particularly those of dominant men in society. The narrator states that there are “a great many woman behind”(55), extending the metaphor to all Victorian women in the United States and others around the world who are oppressed.
Thus, the bars in the narrator’s window serve as a gothic symbol for the relationship the narrator has with her husband because of the way in which they both restrict her independence and power. This symbolism reveals Gilman’s critique of patriarchal society, as she draws attention to the confinement of women in society through the physical confinement of the narrator. This suggests that Gilman condemns the way in which patriarchal society limits the independence and authority of woman at this time. Furthermore, the narrator observes that “John is away all day, and even some nights” (Gilman 1686). This displays that John does not understand the challenges the narrator faces because of her confinement and he simply assumes that he knows what is best for her.
The wallpaper is very much personified, “Those two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down.” The wallpaper is watching the narrator and changes; she sees women behind the paper, but only in the moonlight. “The yellow wallpaper has some kind of sub pattern, a particularly irritating one, for you can only see it in certain lights.” There are women trapped behind the wallpaper. “There are so many of those creeping women, I wonder if they all came out of the wallpaper as I did.” The narrator thinks she is one of those women and wants to get out. The narrator being trapped in the room has slowly made her insane and wants to step out to freedom. “I am really quite fond of this room, but all of this horrid paper.” This quote shows that the narrator wants to be free, just like the other women in this time period.
The wallpaper itself can be broken down to represents the narrator’s marriage. According to Treichler, “The yellow wallpaper is variously interpreted by readers to represent the ‘pattern’ which underlines sexual inequality”(62). Many readers have come up with the idea that the wall paper’s design represents how men felt about women during that time period, “Pointless” and with “lame uncertain curves”. While the background would represent the many men of this time period. The men were the framework of most marriages as is the background is to most work.
In the short story of The Yellow Wallpaper, the author symbolizes the shadow creeping in the "sickly, sulphur" wall in the moonlight as her own. The woman she observes "tak[ing] hold of the bars and shak[ing] them hard" but its no spirit at all. The wallpaper can be thought of as a mirror. The woman is actually looking at her reflection when she gazes at the wall. She sees a woman who is desperate for liberation.
John and Jennie are starting to come to the conclusion that John’s wife is going insane. When John, goes to check on her he opens the door and faints in the doorway after seeing the horror of the bedroom. Throughout The Yellow Wall-Paper, the reader has seen symbolism and imagery several times. Gilman used symbolism and imagery to help the comprehensive aspect for the readers. If a reader were to read the story, word for word without thinking “outside the box”, the story might not develop and unfold as she intended.
In The Yellow Wallpaper, the woman trapped in the wallpaper often reflects the narrator’s thoughts and actions. Both the narrator and the woman are trapped in their surroundings. The only person in The Yellow Wallpaper that sees the woman is the narrator herself. John, the narrator’s husband, wishes that she becomes better and does not want to change the room she is staying in. Finally, the narrator wishes to be free.
Symbols found in “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a riveting story about a young woman who becomes depressed, after having a baby.Her husband believes he has found a remedy for her abasement, which is known in the story as the “rest cure”. Which entails her staying in a bed in a room, where the only thing to look at is the yellow wallpaper. Charlotte Gilman, who is known for her regular use of symbols, fills this tale with several underlying meanings. Gilman shows the protagonist feeling trapped, depressed, and damaged through symbols. Gilman uses symbols to show the main character feeling trapped.
The narrator becomes fascinated by the yellow wallpaper and spends most of the passage describing how it bothered her very much so. There is also the fact that the bedroom is indeed a nursery, but with a rather large heavy bed. The fact that John is the
Her thoughts later on succumb to the torment of being alone and she left with no choice but to stare at the Wallpaper continuously until she begins to see things in a pattern. She believes in the notion that there’s a woman behind the paper, and she is all the time trying to climb through, but unfortunately no one can climb through that pattern-it strangles so” (Gilman p.667). This symbolizes how women’s power is strangled by men and there are many women out there who are trying to escape and break free from suppression. She’s one of those women behind the wallpaper climbing to get out. The wallpaper represents imprisonment since the narrator tries to remove it from the wall but she’s not allowed to do so, yet she stays confined in the