The Narrator
The narrator is an upper-middle-class young woman who has just given birth to a baby boy. She suffers from an unnamed affliction, which her physician husband, John, diagnoses as “temporary nervous depression.” He prescribes a behavioral regimen akin to the “rest cure,” a treatment in which patients minimize mental and physical stimulation and rest in bed for long periods of time. Although her husband prevents her from performing any imaginative activities, including writing, the narrator keeps a secret diary in which she records her experiences, emotions, and growing fixation with her bedroom’s yellow wallpaper.
The narrator’s diary includes very little information about her life before her diagnosis. She considers herself and John “mere ordinary people” and describes their interpersonal dynamic, in which John laughs at her ideas, as something to be expected in a marriage. While she doesn’t know exactly what is wrong with her, she believes that work and stimulation would help her improve. This belief is at odds with the medical opinions of her husband and brother (another doctor), and John’s supervision leaves her feeling powerless. The narrator’s reliance on her husband demonstrates the subordinate position of women in late 19th-century society.
In some respects, the narrator embodies traditional values of late 19th-century womanhood. She is deferential to her husband’s opinions and feels guilty that her illness prevents her from being the ideal wife for him. She refers to their baby as “dear,” despite her emotional inability to spend time with him. However, as John prevents her from expressing her imaginative impulses, she channels them into the yellow wallpaper. As it becomes necessary to deceive her husband in order to experience any sort of inner life, she sheds her late 19th-century values and personas.
The rest cure has the opposite of its intended effect, and without stimulation or the ability to express herself, the narrator begins to detach from reality. Her diary entries, which constitute the frame of the short story, demonstrate her psychological deterioration. Her writing becomes more fragmented and frenzied. She stares at the yellow wallpaper all day. She imagines seeing a trapped woman in the wallpaper and attempts to free her by tearing the wallpaper down.
By the end of the story, the narrator has fully embodied the persona of the woman trapped behind the wallpaper. She also sees a large number of creeping women outside her room, implying both that she is hallucinating and that she may now be aware of a larger scheme of oppression in the world around her. When John comes to take her away from the house, she creeps around the room and refers to a woman named Jane who has participated in her imprisonment. While it’s unclear if this might have been a typo for “Jennie,” readers can infer that Jane is the name of the narrator herself, and that she has rejected her identity in favor of the woman from the wallpaper. She creeps repeatedly in a circle around the room, continuing over John’s unconscious body, finally free from his control.
Expert Q&A
What does the woman represent and why does the narrator identify with her in "The Yellow Wallpaper"?
The woman in the wallpaper represents the narrator's repressed self, trapped within the domestic sphere. As the narrator descends into madness, she identifies with this woman, seeing her own desires for freedom reflected in the figure behind the wallpaper. This identification intensifies as she tries to free the woman by peeling off the wallpaper, ultimately realizing that she herself is the woman seeking escape.
Why doesn't John want the narrator to write in "The Yellow Wallpaper"?
John, the narrator's husband in "The Yellow Wallpaper," forbids her from writing as part of the "rest cure" treatment popular in the 19th century, which aimed to suppress women's voices and agency. Writing symbolizes self-expression and resistance, which John seeks to control, reflecting the oppressive gender norms of the era. By preventing her from writing, John maintains dominance and dismisses her mental health needs, believing rest alone suffices.
What cure does the narrator believe is best for her, and how does this contrast with her husband and brother's opinions?
The narrator believes that engaging in "congenial work" and leading a varied, stimulating life would best improve her mental health. This contrasts with her husband and brother's opinion, who, as physicians, prescribe a "rest cure" involving tonics, fresh air, and complete rest, viewing her condition as "hysterical." They dismiss her insights, attributing her frustration to her condition, which exacerbates her unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the prescribed treatment.
Why does the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" peel off the wallpaper to free the woman?
The narrator peels off the wallpaper to free the woman she believes is trapped behind it, reflecting her descent into mental illness. Initially repulsed by the wallpaper, she grows compassionate towards the imagined woman and, in her delusion, attempts to liberate her. This act symbolizes her struggle against her own feelings of entrapment and her oppressive relationship with her husband, as she seeks to save herself by tearing down the wallpaper that seems to mock her.
After two weeks in the residence, how has the narrator's state and her relationship with John changed?
After two weeks in the residence, the narrator feels increasingly isolated and misunderstood by her husband, John, who dismisses her mental health issues as "temporary nervous depression." John's frequent absences and his patronizing, infantilizing attitude contribute to her growing distress. He ignores her emotional needs and insists on his treatment, which exacerbates her condition. The narrator hides her writing from John, who believes it worsens her state, reflecting his lack of empathy and understanding.
What belief does the narrator hold at the end of "The Yellow Wallpaper"?
By the end of "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator believes she has freed a woman who was trapped within the wallpaper. In a final twist, she declares, "I've got out at last" and "I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" Ultimately, the narrator believes that she is the woman who has been freed from the wallpaper, and she has obviously begun to suffer from some form of psychosis.
How does the narrator's mood change in "The Yellow Wallpaper"? Why is her husband oblivious to her deterioration?
In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator's mood shifts from initial unease to obsession and eventual madness, driven by isolation and lack of stimulation. Her husband, John, remains oblivious to her mental deterioration due to prevailing beliefs of the time that underestimated women's mental health issues. This lack of understanding and her confinement lead the narrator to fixate on the wallpaper, ultimately succumbing to insanity. The story highlights the limitations of a single perspective and societal misconceptions.
How does the narrator's changing description of the wallpaper reflect her character development?
The narrator's evolving description of the wallpaper mirrors her mental deterioration and character development. Initially, she criticizes the wallpaper's "repellant" pattern, reflecting her analytical and self-aware state. As her confinement deepens, she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, seeing a woman trapped within it, symbolizing her own entrapment. By the end, she identifies with this figure, believing she has "got out" by tearing the wallpaper, representing her complete psychological breakdown and loss of reality.
What does the narrator's repeated lament "What can one do" reveal about her personality?
The narrator's repeated lament, "What can one do," reveals her initial submissive and powerless state, reflecting her societal and marital constraints. Despite disagreeing with her husband's medical advice, she feels unable to challenge him due to his authority and the era's gender norms. However, her secret journaling hints at a rebellious spirit. As the story progresses, her mental breakdown signifies a shift from passive acceptance to a desperate quest for autonomy and freedom.
What are the narrator's feelings towards the "woman" in the wallpaper?
The narrator's feelings towards the "woman" in the wallpaper are complex and symbolic of her own mental deterioration. Initially curious, she becomes increasingly obsessed and disturbed as she believes the woman is trapped and trying to escape. This reflects her own feelings of entrapment and despair due to untreated postpartum depression. As her mental state worsens, she identifies with the woman, seeing her liberation as her own, culminating in a complete mental breakdown.
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