Symbolism In 'The Yellow Wallpaper'

Central to the story is the wallpaper itself. It is within the wallpaper that the narrator finds her hidden self and her eventual damnation/freedom. Her obsession with the paper begins subtly and then consumes both the narrator and the story. Once settled in the long-empty “ancestral estate,” a typical gothic setting, the narrator is dismayed to learn that her husband has chosen the top-floor nursery room for her. The room is papered in horrible yellow wallpaper, the design of which “commit[s] every artistic sin”(426). The design begins to fascinate the narrator and she

He had even hired a housekeeper to take care of not only the house, but the baby as well. John also controlled almost everything in her life. In fact, the only thing he did not control was her journal writing, and even then she had to hide it from him since he did not approve of it. When he comes she says, "I must put this (the journal) away - he hates to have me write a word"(471). Part of John's problem 1s that he is a doctor. As a doctor, he control's his wife's health care, prescribing her medicines and her overall cure. As her husband, he is too emotionally involved to look at the case objectively, or if he had, he might have seen her mind going before it was too late. Not only that, the accepted "cure" at that particular time was ineffective and would only serve to make his wife worse (473). This "cure" was the product of a certain Dr. Weir Mitchell; a nerve specialist whose theory of a "rest cure" for mentally unstable patients was later found to be unsuccessful. In the story, the husband's ill-advised attempts to treat his wife's symptoms drive her insane by taking all responsibility from her and forcing isolation upon her as a part of her "cure."

During this hours, everyone can see what is going on, so the narrator barely creeps, just like it was seen as taboo to be seen supporting women’s rights. “ [...] He said what I felt was a drought, and shut the window” (Gilman ). The windows in the story are a path to freedom, but when they are barred, it represents the opportunities for independence and freedom being taken away, and the narrator hold back from reaching for them. “She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession”(Gilman 650). Jennie was John’s sister, and she represented the “ideal” woman role expected by society, just like Mary. They are everything the narrator’s husband wants her to be, the stereotypical housewife, who does what she is told to do; the exact opposite from the narrator. “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friend and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do? My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing” (Gilman 648).The physicians are symbolic to high rank in society

The role of women in society was displayed quite clearly by the entrance of John’s sister. The woman writes, “There comes John’s sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me! I must not let her find me writing. She is a perfectionist and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession. I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which makes me sick!” John’s sister is representative of the typical woman. A woman who is pleased with her life, and wishes for no more. John’s wife, however, is rebelling on her place in society by writing. This is why she includes the statement; “…I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which makes me sick!”

As a woman, the narrator must be protected and controlled and kept away from harm. This seemed to be the natural mindset in the 19th century, that women need to have guidance in what they do, what decisions they make, and what they say. John calls her a “little goose”(95) and his “little girl”(236), referring her to a child, someone who needs special attention and control. His need for control over her is proven when she admits that her husband is “careful and loving and hardly lets me stir without special direction”(49). John has mentally restrained the speaker’s mind, she is forced to hide her anxieties, fears and be submissive, to preserve the happiness of their marriage. When the narrator attempts to speak up, she is bogged down and made guilty of her actions. Her husband makes her feel guilty for asking, he says, “‘I beg of you, for my sake and for our child’s sake, as well as your own, that you will never for one instant let that idea enter your mind!’”(225-226). By making her feel guilty for her illness, John has trapped her mentally from speaking up about it, convincing her that she must be more careful about her actions. Men often impose the hardships placed upon women during this era. They are often the people reassuring them of their “womanly” duties, and guiding them

   In the disturbing novel, The Yellow Wallpaper, the setting in which the action takes place is extremely important. The author uses setting to focus the reader’s attention into the story in a gradual manner. Also, the manipulation of setting allows the author to subtly introduce symbols in the text. These symbols represent Gilman’s view on the status of women in the patriarchal society of the nineteenth century.

Although tender and caring, John played a significant role in causing the narrator’s descent into ‘madness’. By taking on the role of a physician and a husband, John symbolises the stronghold power men had over women in the past. Instead of respecting his wife’s request for some form of mental stimulation, John insists that she takes on the ‘rest’ treatment. The treatment only focuses on the physical condition of the patient, and not the emotional or mental

John, the narrator’s controlling, but loving, husband represents the atypical man of the time. He wants his wife to get better and to be able to fill the role of the perfect wife that society expected from her. John, being a doctor, did not quite believe that her mental illness was out of her control and insisted on

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," is the disheartening tale of a woman suffering from postpartum depression. Set during the late 1890s, the story shows the mental and emotional results of the typical "rest cure" prescribed during that era and the narrator’s reaction to this course of treatment. It would appear that Gilman was writing about her own anguish as she herself underwent such a treatment with Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell in 1887, just two years after the birth of her daughter Katherine. The rest cure that the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" describes is very close to what Gilman herself experienced; therefore, the story can be read as reflecting the feelings of women like herself who suffered through

In “The Yellow wallpaper”, the wallpaper is a metaphor that expresses women’s protest against the repression of the society and their personal identity at the rise of feminism. During the Victorian era, women were kept down and kept in line by their married men and other men close to them. "The Yellow Wallpaper", written By Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a tale of a woman, her mental difficulties and her husband’s so called therapeutic treatment ‘rest cure’ of her misery during the late 1800s. The tale starts out in the summer with a young woman and her husband travelling for the healing powers of being out from writing, which only appears to aggravate her condition. His delusion gets Jane (protagonist), trapped in a room, shut up in a bed making her go psychotic. As the tale opens, she begins to imagine a woman inside ‘the yellow wallpaper’.

For centuries women in literature have been depicted as weak, subservient, and unthinking characters. Before the 19th century, they usually were not given interesting personalities and were always the proper, perfect and supportive character to the main manly characters. However, one person, in order to defy and mock the norm of woman characterization and the demeaning mindsets about women, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper." This story, through well crafted symbolisms, brought to surface the troubles that real women face. Her character deals with the feeling of being trapped by the expectations of her husband, with the need to do something creative or constructive, and to have a mind and will of her own. These feelings

Day by day, she descends more into psychosis, a mental illness that causes one to lose touch with reality. For this reason, many literary critics argue John is a villain, although that is not the case. John’s intentions are positive and he would never intentionally harm his

Kallie Iatrou Professor Heather Gushue English 1080- 006 30 September 2016 In“ The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, the narrator,Jane, symbolizes the protagonist’s mind by the use of symbolism. This story is written in First person narrative. Jane’s backstory begins by recently having a child and is suffering from post-partum depression. Her husband, John, is a physician and is giving her a prescription for her illness.

An author and a poet Charlotte Perkins Gilman left her own experience as asking questions about a human right for a society in her short story in The Yellow Wallpaper. In the colonial mansion that no one had not lived for long, she was prisoned in the second floor by her husband. He told her that this is the best treatment to her depression; however, she suspected his plot from his actions. Charlotte well-illustrated her suffering and emotion through many symbolism that make us think a human right to treat people who have mental illnesses.

In the short story, the author doesn’t really like her husband john, more as she tries to escape him. This narrator states that there is a woman trapped behind bars. I think that this shows as a symbol or clue of her relationship with john, as you get deeper into the story to can tell that she actually despises him. The wallpaper is basically her life and she explains that through the story of where she lives with who and how many kids she has. When the narrator states that she ripped out most of the wallpaper off the walls, she is explaining her relationship with john stating that she doesn’t want to be with him anymore because her relationship with john is making her depressed. John threatens to send her to Weir Mitchell, the physician.