Themes, Symbols, and Feelings in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

            Confined to this room day after day, the narrator begins to study the wallpaper:  ". . . I determine for the thousandth time that I will follow that pointless pattern to some sort of conclusion."  That “pointless pattern" refers to the rigid pattern of complete subjugation to men that women of Gilman's day were expected to follow.  A woman of that era was the "property" of her father until she married.  She then became subject to her husband’s will with no legal rights and no authority to determine what was best for her.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" tells the story of a woman living in the nineteenth century who suffers from postpartum depression. The true meaning implicit in Charlotte's story goes beyond a simple psychological speculation. The story consists of a series of cleverly constructed short paragraphs, in which the author illustrates, through the unnamed protagonist's experiences, the possible outcome of women's acceptance of men's supposed intellectual superiority. The rigid social norms of the nineteenth century, characterized by oppression and discrimination against women, are supposedly among the causes of the protagonist's depression. However, it is her husband's tyrannical attitude what ultimately

    "The Yellow Wallpaper" takes a close look at one woman's mental deterioration. The narrator is emotionally isolated from her husband. Due to the lack of interaction with other people the woman befriends the reader by secretively communicating her story in a diary format. Her attitude towards the wallpaper is openly hostile at the beginning, but ends with an intimate and liberating connection. During the gradual change in the relationship between the narrator and the wallpaper, the yellow paper becomes a mirror, reflecting the process the woman is going through in her room.

A Feminist Reading of Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar dives headfirst into The Yellow Wallpaper and presents their interpretation of the short story. The three main points that this article covers are the symbolism of the room the narrator was confined to, the degradation of the narrator’s mental state, and the real world impact that this story had. While I agree for the most part with these authors, I have my own personal interpretation of the story.

In the short story, the reader gets the sense that the narrator feels like the wallpaper is a text she must interpret, that it symbolizes something that affects her directly. Its symbolism progresses throughout the story. At first, it is just ugly and unappealing to look at because it is ripped, soiled, and an “unclean yellow.” It eventually captivates the narrator as she tries to figure out the seemingly formless pattern. The narrator eventually begins to hallucinate an eerie sub-pattern behind the main pattern. Ultimately, the sub-pattern comes into focus as a frantic woman, continually crawling and hunched,

The yellow wallpaper in the room shows, symbolically, the narrator was being oppressed. The narrator hated the wallpaper because she saw herself as a prisoner of her own husband. Spending so much time in the room, the narrator studied the wallpaper in details and found the wallpaper somewhat represents her. "There is one place where two breadths didn't match, and the eyes go all up and down the line, one a little higher than the other" (pg280), "Such a peculiar odor, too" (pg 285) etc. The confusing pattern, the bar, the woman behind the bar, and the yellow color of the wallpaper allowed her to feel so helpless, as if she was a bird

The Story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a great expression of women’s oppression in the 19th century. The story introduces readers to a woman frustrating in her life and suffering from a nervous depression and her marriage as the yellow wallpaper is causing her a real insanity. Having a background about the timing and the setting that the story is written in helps the reader to internalize the whole meaning of the story and understand its important details. The story is told by a narrator using an anxious tone, and she is being angry and sarcastic at the same time. The woman mentions that her husband has taken her to a summer vacation. So, the story takes

The yellow wallpaper is the most obvious symbol in this story. This symbolizes the protagonist 's mind named Jane during the 19th century. The yellow wallpaper symbolizes the way women were perceived. The yellow wallpaper includes models, angles and curves so that they contradict each other. we could say that these angles represents the identity of women during the 19th century. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is about the control and attacks the role of women in society. What is expected of women of the 19th century is to have children, take care of the house and do only what the husband says. The man of this time have the privilege of having a good education, have their jobs and they make their own decisions. The

“Yellow Wallpaper” as a symbol of the oppression of a woman who feels trapped in her roles as

Life during the 1800s for a woman was rather distressing. Society had essentially designated them the role of being a housekeeper and bearing children. They had little to no voice on how they lived their daily lives. Men decided everything for them. To clash with society 's conventional views is a challenging thing to do; however, Charlotte Perkins Gilman does an excellent job fighting that battle by writing “The Yellow Wallpaper,” one of the most captivating pieces of literature from her time. By using the conventions of a narrative, such as character, setting, and point of view, she is capable of bringing the reader into a world that society

Despite living in a confined room, the narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” finds a way to break free, become an entirely new person, and explore the evils and unfairness holding her back in society. This demonstrates that those who are oppressed can overcome their oppressors but cannot belong in the same structure after realizing the negative impact on not only themselves, but also on society as a whole. The narrator is forced to suppress her true feelings until she violently overcomes her unjust treatment and cannot return to the compromised structure. Her treatment is directly affiliated with her femininity and she chooses to abandon all aspects of her gender, gender roles, and expectations to lose her past self and reject the patriarchal influences on society.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a feminist writer who wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” in the 1890’s. During this time period the woman were expected to keep the house clean, care for their children, and listen to their husbands. The men were expected to work a job and be the head of a household. The story narrates a woman’s severe depression which she thinks is linked to the yellow wallpaper. Charlotte Gilman experienced depression in her life and it inspired her to write “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The short story is based on a woman, not given a name in the text, who is very dependent on her husband. The narrator plays a gender role

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story that portrays a mentally ill young woman. The story is illustrated in first person, narrated by the woman’s point of view. The woman suffers through a nervous depression, and is spending three months in a rented old mansion with her husband and family. Based on her descriptions of her stay, one can tell that she was being oppressed, treated unjustly like many women in this time period. She is oppressed through three connected things, her mental illness, the room in which she is staying, and her husband.

When this story was first written in 1892, women were commonly forced into the stereotypical domesticated lifestyle by their overly controlling male authority figures. When someone is trapped in a mindset that they don’t want to be part of them begin to feel caged. Not only would they feel physically caged due to the lack of control, but also their sense of self is caged behind mental barriers. This is what happens to the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The tearing down of the wallpaper throughout the story symbolizes the deterioration of the stereotypical domestic life forced upon her, this ultimately subsides to her more rebellious and free spirited self. This is possible due to the weak mental walls put in place by her husband. These

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” first published in 1892, illustrates themes such as the subordination of women in marriage through the haunting yellow wallpaper. The narrator at first does not see anything but a strange pattern, but gradually comes to realize that there is a woman trying to escape from behind bars. This wallpaper pattern represents the unfair position of women in the nineteenth century. When this story was written, women were second class citizens compared to their male husbands. At the beginning of the story, readers view the story as Gothic fiction about a woman whom the “resting cure” is forced upon by her husband. This “cure,” developed in the late 1800s, was common treatment for women suffering from hysteria or other nervous diseases. By the end of the story, the narrator sees many women behind the bars of the cage, trying to escape. Wallpaper is originally used as decoration, covering, and a way to create a mood or atmosphere. The yellow wallpaper is a symbol illustrating the narrator’s feelings of neglect throughout the story as well as the perception of all subordinated women throughout the eighteenth century.