The Yellow Wall-Paper

By Charlotte Perkins Stetson

Setting and Context

• Location: A colonial mansion rented for the summer.
• Characters: The narrator, her husband John, a physician, and John's sister Jennie.
• Narrator's Condition: Suffering from what is diagnosed as "temporary nervous depression" or "hysteria."

Main Themes

• Mental Health: The narrator's mental health is misunderstood and dismissed by her husband and brother, both physicians.
• Isolation: The narrator is isolated in a nursery room with barred windows and a disturbing yellow wallpaper.
• Oppression: The narrator is controlled by her husband, who dismisses her feelings and creative expression.
• Expression and Relief: Writing is a secret activity for the narrator, providing a sense of relief.

Description of the Setting

• The House: Described as a beautiful yet eerie building, reminiscent of a haunted house; standing alone with locked gates and overgrown gardens.
• The Room: A large airy room on the top floor, previously a nursery, gymnasium, and playroom.
  • Features: Barred windows, rings on the walls, and a disturbing yellow wallpaper.

The Yellow Wallpaper

• Description:
  • Color: Smouldering unclean yellow, sickly sulphur tint.
  • Pattern: Confusing, irritating, with chaotic curves and contradictions.
• Effect on Narrator:
  • The wallpaper becomes an obsession, with the narrator seeing a woman trapped behind it.
  • Symbolizes her own feelings of entrapment and mental unrest.

Interactions with John

• John's Attitude: Dismissive of the narrator's feelings, believes the room is beneficial for her recovery.
• Control: Restricts her activity, insisting on rest and conformity to his views on her condition.
• Conflict: The narrator desires change and stimulation, which she believes would aid her recovery.

Symbolism and Imagery

• Wallpaper: Represents the narrator’s mental state and societal oppression.
• Creeping Woman: Symbolizes the narrator’s own feelings of entrapment and desire for freedom.
• Room's Physical Features: Bars on windows and immovable bed symbolize confinement.

Progression of the Narrator’s Condition

• Initial Resistance: Secret writing as a form of rebellion and relief.
• Growing Obsession: Increasing focus on the wallpaper, leading to a breakdown.
• Final Act: The narrator locks herself in the room, strips the wallpaper, releasing the "woman" behind it.

Climax

• Narrator’s Liberation: Believes she has freed herself from the constraints imposed by the wallpaper and her husband.
• John’s Reaction: Faints upon seeing the narrator's state, representing the collapse of his controlling influence.

Conclusion

• The story ends ambiguously, with the narrator creeping over John’s fainted body, symbolizing her apparent escape from oppression but also highlighting the severity of her mental breakdown.