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1. 
   sharrons Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   In "The Yellow Wallpaper", two important quotes are: 

   Quote 1:  “The front pattern DOES move - and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it!” “Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.”

   This quote ties into one of the major themes, which is the role of women in the 19th century.  The woman or the women that the unnamed narrator sees trapped behind the wallpaper is symbolic of the women during this time period who felt trapped as they were economically and socially dependent upon men. This quote is also indicative of the unnamed narrator's mental illness, as she is seeing women behind the wall paper.

   Quote #2  “I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.”

   This quote ties into the theme of mental illness and male dominance. It shows how the John ( a doctor and a male) dismissed her mental illness as “nervous troubles.”  (This was often the case during this time period as women’s mental illnesses were perceived as “a case of nerves.”)It is also ironic that the narrator says that her case is “not serious”, when actually this story shows the stages of a mental nervous breakdown. 

   Sources:

   http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/gilman.htm

   http://www.enotes.com/yellow-wallpaper

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   Posted by sharrons on Monday January 19, 2009 at 4:59 PM