THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

PLOT The narrator begins her journal by marvelling at the the grandeur of the house and grounds her husband has taken for their summer vacation. She describes it in romantic terms as an aristocratic estate or even a haunted house and wonder how they were able to afford it, and why the house had been empty for so long. Her feeling that there is "something queer" about the situation leads her into a discussion of her illness- she is suffering from "nervous depression"- and of her marriage. She complains that her husband, John, who is also her doctor, belittles both her illness and her thoughts and concerns in general. She contrasts his practical, rationalistic manner with her own imaginative, sensitive ways. Her treatment requires that she do almost nothing active, and she is especially forbidden from working and writing. She feels that activity, freedom, and interesting work would help her condition and reveals that she has begun her secret journal in order to "relieve her mind." In an attempt to do so, the narrator begins describing the house. Her description is mostly positive, but disturbing elements such as "rings and things" in the bedroom walls, and the bars on the windows, keep showing up (could have been an asylum?). She is particularly disturbed by the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom, with its strange, formless pattern, and describes it as "revolting." Soon, however her thoughts are interrupted by John's approach, and she is forced to stop writing. As the first few weeks of the summer pass, the narrator becomes good at hiding her journal, and thus hiding her true thoughts from John. She continues to long for more stimulating company and activity, and she complains again about John's patronising controlling ways- although she immediately returns to the wallpaper, which begins to seem not only ugly, but oddly menacing. She mentions that John is worried about her becoming fixated on it, and that he has even refused to repaper the room so as not to give

in to her neurotic worries. The narrator's imagination, however, has been aroused. She mentions that she enjoys picturing people on the walkways around the house and that John always discourages such fantasies. She also thinks back to her childhood, when she was able to work herself into a terror by imagining things in the dark. As she describes the bedroom, which she says must have been a nursery for young children, she points out that the paper is torn off the wall in spots, there are scratches and gouges in the floor, and the furniture is heavy and fixed in place. Just as she begins to see a strange sub-pattern behind the main design of the wallpaper, her writing is interrupted again, this time by John's sitter, Jennie, who is acting as a housekeeper and nurse for the narrator. As the Fourth of July passes, the narrator reports that her family has just visited, leaving her more tired than ever. John threatens to send her to Weir Mitchell, the real-life physician under whose care Gilman had a nervous breakdown. The narrator is alone most of the time and says that she has become almost fond of the wallpaper and that attempting to figure out its pattern has become her primary entertainment. As her obsession grows, the sub-pattern of the wallpaper becomes clearer. It begins to resemble a woman "stooping down and creeping" behind the main pattern, which looks like the bars of a cage. Whenever the narrator tries to discuss leaving the house, John makes light of her concerns, effectively silencing her. Each time he does so, her disgusted fascination with the paper grows. Soon the wallpaper dominates the narrator's imagination. She becomes possessive and secretive, hiding her interest in the paper and making sure no one else examines it so that she can "find it out" on her own. At one point, she startles Jennie, who had been touching the wallpaper and who mentions that she had found yellow stains on their clothes. Mistaking the narrator's fixation for tranquility, John thinks she is improving. But she sleeps less and less and is convinced that she can smell the paper all over the

house, even outside. She discovers a strange smudge mark on the paper, running all around the room, as if it had been rubbed by someone crawling against the wall. The sub-pattern now clearly resembles a woman who is trying to get out from behind the main pattern. The narrator sees her shaking the bars at night and creeping around during the day, when the woman is able to escape briefly. The narrator mentions that she, too, creeps around at times. She suspects that John and Jennie are aware of her obsession, and she resolves to destroy the paper once and for all, peeling much of it off during the night. The next day she manages to be alone and goes into something of a frenzy, biting and tearing at the paper in order to free the trapped woman, whom she sees struggling from inside the pattern. By the end, the narrator is hopelessly insane, convinced that there are many creeping woman around and that she herself has come out of the wallpaper- that she herself is the trapped woman. She creeps endlessly around the room, smudging the wallpaper as she goes. When John breaks into the locked room and sees the full horror of the situation, he faints in the doorway, so that the narrator has "to creep over him every time!" ANALYSIS At the beginning of the story, the narrator is seen as a hysteric with an illness of some sort. "I did write for a while; but it does exhaust me a good deal." This line suggests the narrator was once a writer, but due to her illness has been forced to stop. She tires easily and is made to stay home to rest, where her husband treats her unequally and childishly. The narrator and her husband are residing in a rental mansion as their home is being renovated, and this is where the story takes place. John's attitude is careless towards his wide and in more ways than one, mistreating. "You see, he does not believe I am sick!" This indicated that John is sceptical

about the narrator's condition and does not treat her with the medication she truly needs. "What is it little girl? You little goose." He patronises his wife by treating her as a child. Thus, the nursery, where the narrator and John stay, is proved significant. Conflict arises between the narrator and her husband in cases where he prevents her from fulfilling her smallest wishes. "You know the place is doing you good, and really dear, I don't care to renovate the house just for a three months' rental." When the narrator requests to change the awful wallpaper, her husband disagrees, thinking she will feel the need to change the whole house afterwards. The narrator's feelings towards her husband are ones of frustration and guilt. "John does not know how much I really suffer." She is frustrated with him for denying her condition and not treating her to health again. "I mean to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am, a comparative burden already!" She feels guilts at not fulfilling her duties as a housewife of that time. This feeling is not helped by the fact that John's sister, Jennie, seems to be content with life of that age, and is doing everything the narrator should have been doing. John is not trying to drive to drive the narrator to insanity on purpose. He is in a state of denial and disbelief at her illness. John is a product of that time period, where doctors such as he, did not believe in mental illnesses. "John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt, seen and put down in figures." As he does not physically see evidence of a mental breakdown, he assumes his wife is just acting up. This is dangerous as he unknowingly contributes to the narrator's destruction. The woman in the story is not entirely "reliable" as the ready can only see from her point of view. The narrator is known to be mentally ill, so her judgements and descriptions may not always be sensible. "John

asked me all sorts of questions, too, and pretended to be very loving and kind. As if I couldn't see through him!" The narrator develops paranoia. She believes her husband, as well as his sister, are out to solve the mystery of the wallpaper, which she desires to do herself. The reader cannot trust the narrator to interpret situations as they really are. The wallpaper plays many roles in the story. At times, it is a monster with bulbous eyes watching. Other times it is a cage where figures are trapped behind the bars. "And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind the pattern." Towards the end of the story, however, the wallpaper plays a mirror, reflecting the narrator's situation. It never changes in reality, but in the world of our narrator, it is shifting every time. The creeping figure in the wallpaper represents the women of that time, the narrator included. It tells the age-old tale of oppression and inequality in marriages. The women are afraid and hide from society, not wanting to be noticed or in the limelight. The principal social institution against which the narrator struggles is marriage and being a woman. She is under the oppression brought down to her by her husband. Society of that time also plays its role as women were considered "inferior" and did not have the freedom then they have today. The ending in the story is both a victory and a defeat. The narrator is victorious in escaping the confinement her husband had made for her. However, her price was her sanity and her reason. She became the woman she was hallucinating, losing all track on who was who. The narrator's situation is different to that of the other woman as she was not real, but similar as both are trapped by a representation of domestic life- the wallpaper. Both are not free and act as though they wish not to be seen.

QUOTES John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage- Sarcasm. One does not expect such things

in a healthy marriage. John is practical in the extremedown in figuresDescription of John, as contrasted to the narrator's. My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing- Shows what all doctors thought in that time period. I wanted one downstairs..But John would not hear of it- Patronising. John does not listen to even the simplest of needs. I am glad my case is not serious- Sarcasm. The narrator is realising how serious her case really is. I meant to be such a help to John..a comparative burden already- She feels guilt in not fulfilling her duties as a traditional wife and mother. At first he meant to repaper the room..give way to such fancies- Again, John displays ignorance of his wife's needs. I always fancy I see peopleSo I try- John stops her from imagining even harmless fantasies. I wish I could get well faster. There is a recurrent spot.The narrator frequently brings up the wallpaper, showcasing her obsession with it. I used to lie awake as a child and get more entertainment..- The narrator has a vivid imagination Big old bureau- alliteration to show the security and kindness I could always hop into that chair and be safe- insecure Ravages, scratched, gouged, splintered, through the wars- violent descriptions from a struggling mind Such a dear girl as she is- Feels guilty for not appreciating her I must not let her find me writing- fear of being discovered She is a perfect, an enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession- Exactly what the narrator does NOT want to be From these windows..lovely country- She wants to be a part of it all

A lovely country, too, full of great.This wallpaper has a kind of sub-pattern.- The wallpaper is brought up again. I can see a strange, provoking formless sort of figure- The progression of the story where she becomes a part of the wallpaper John says if I don't pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall- Patronising. An example of what a parent might say to a child. "If you don't clean your room, you shan't have any food" I follow that pattern by the hour- The narrator's obsession is growing. He said I was his darling, his comfort and all he had, and I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep wellThis increases the narrator's guilt for being a burden. He manipulates her. There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will- Her obsession talking. What is it little girl?- Patronising. I am a doctor, dear, and I know/ Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?- John is patronising her again, and is acting superior to her. I beg of you, for my sake and for our child's sake, as well as for your own- Again, he increases her guilt. I've caught him several times looking at the paper! And Jennie too. I caught Jennie with her hand on it once/ As if I couldn't..him- The narrator's obsession and paranoia begins to show evidently. I thought of burning the house- to reach the smell/ I got so angry I bit off a little piece at one corner/ For outside you have to creep.instead of yellow- Pure insanity. Now why should that man have fainted? I had to creep over him every time!- John is no longer recognisable, she is far too gone. He has now become an inconvenience.

OTHER NOTES Dramatic Irony: occurs when there is a contrast between the reader's knowledge and the knowledge of the

character's in the work. For example, when the narrator first describes the bedroom she attributes the room's bizarre features- the "rings and things" in the walls, the nailed-down furniture, the bars on the windows, and the torn wallpaper- to the fact that it must have once been a nursery. Even this early in the story, the reader sees that there is an equally plausible explanation for these details; the room had been used to house an insane person. Another example is when the narrator assumes that Jennie shares her interest in the wallpaper, while it is clear that Jennie is only now noticing the source of the yellow stains on their clothing. The effect intensifies towards the end of the story, as the narrator sinks further into her fantasy and the reader remains able to see her actions from the "outside." By the time the narrator fully identifies the trapped woman she sees in the wallpaper, the reader can appreciate the narrator's experience from her point of view as well as John's shock at what he sees when he breaks down the door to the bedroom. Situational Irony: refers to moments when a character's actions have the opposite of their intended effect. For example, John's course of treatment backfires, worsening the depression he was trying to cure and actually driving his wife insane. Similarly there is a deep irony in the way the narrator's fate develops. She gains a kind of power and insight only by losing what we would call her self-control and reason. The story is an epistolary, in which the narrator writes to herself. Gilman uses this technique to show the narrator's descent into madness both subjectively and objectivelythat is, from both the inside and the outside. The journal used gives the story an intense intimacy and immediacy, especially in those moments when the narrative is interrupted by the approach of John or Jennie.