"The Yellow Wallpaper"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In particular, it examines the role of the narrator in the story, identifying the narrator's feelings concerning the characters and the story line. It also explores the imagery of the wall paper relating to the narrator's mental illness.

From the Paper:

"The narrator stating that she "got out at last" is a statement of defiance and freedom. Her life as it was with John was simply too much like a prison for her. In many ways, the narrator has no choice to find the real freedom she needs because her husband was a doctor that did not believe in postpartum depression. The narrator understands what this means to her well being when she writes, "If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression--a slight hysterical tendency--what is one to do?" (362). Moreover, the narrator's brother is a doctor as well. Intuitively, she knows there is something wrong with her but she feels hopeless with two doctors telling her nothing is wrong. The narrator writes, "Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good" (362). What we learn from this statement is not only that the narrator feels trapped but that she feels as though there is no way out of her current situation, at least as long as her husband refuses to recognize what is actually wrong with her. His so-called prescriptions for her only compound her condition."

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