"The Yellow Wall-Paper"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the literary work, "The Yellow Wall-Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It investigates the author's use of the surroundings and setting of the story to demonstrate how the protagonist, who is never given, changes as the story progresses. The paper provides a chronological synopsis and critical analysis throughout the story.

From the Paper:

"The protagonist is the narrator, and she begins by describing the house she and her husband, a physician, are temporarily living in. She describes it as "secure ancestral halls" and "a haunted house." These two phrases foreshadow the events of the story. As the narrator continues to talk about her situation, we see that she feels far more than secure: she feels trapped. Gradually she comes to believe that the house is haunted, and that the unknown inhabitant is also trapped. She sets about freeing her from her prison, which happens to be the yellow wallpaper. She believes a woman who struggles to be free is held against her will under the wallpaper. This imaginary woman is symbolic of the narrator's plight, shut off from every direction."

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