Yellow wallpaper

Freedom and confinement

single room in a large house
narrator’s attempts to cope with isolation moves the plot forward
narrator not liberated at the end of the story, simply fallen deeply into mental illness.
successfully liberated herself by the end of the story

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Gilman was prominent feminist, rejected the trappings of traditional domestic life and published extensively about the role of women in society
john- protective, and the ultimate decision maker in the couple
wife- confined in home, not allowed to work (or to write), and considered by her husband to be fragile, emotional,
woman trapped behind the yellow wallpaper becomes symbol for ways in which narrator herself feels trapped by her role in the family.
narrator’s lack of a name reinforces the notion that she is speaking as the voice of women collectively, rather than as an individual.
fulfillment in the home, while men hold positions as high-ranking physicians.(doctor)
reversal of traditional roles as strong protector, as fainted in shock at the sight of his wife

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gradually losing sanity due to confinement
mind grows more chaotic and as she begins seeing shapes in the wallpaper
losing grip on reality, as seeing trapped women, as such thing may not exisit
repressed imagination leds to madness
insight to treatment of mental illness in the late nineteenth century
His refusal to acknowledge his wife’s concerns about her own mental state as legitimate, or to listen to her various requests – about their choice of room/receiving visitors/leaving the house/her writing/ the wallpaper – ultimately contributes to her breakdown, as finds herself trapped, alone, and unable to make her inner struggles understood

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Unable to communicate with her husband
diary outlet for secrets and thought which would worry husband
dramatic irony created as husband unaware of wife's inner life, reader's knowlegde through diary
thinks wife is getting better, infact getting worse due to wallpaper
postpartum depression before the 1900s - misundertsanding (mood disorder associated with childbirth) - labelled insane and locked in asylum. many locked up in asylums during victorian era, were looked after by non-medical men who helped patients/ kept them inside/ little keen on releasing them

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unpleasant: it is ripped, soiled, and an “unclean yellow.”
formless pattern, fascinates narrator as she attempts to figure out how it is organized
sees a ghostly sub-pattern behind the main pattern, visible only in certain light.
woman, constantly crawling, looking for an escape from behind the main pattern, which has come to resemble the bars of a cage
narrator sees this cage with the heads of many women, all of whom were strangled as they tried to escape
hideous paper as a symbol of the domestic life that traps so many women
wallpaper is an image she is seeing of herself being trapped - seeing herself in the wallpaper trying to escape because she is also trying to escape her depression. When she is ripping off the wall paper and the woman is also ripping it from the inside, she thinks that the woman is helping her, but it's herself trying to escape

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secluded place chosen by husband- may want to hide wife
jailed and confined - must uphold societal norms and values
windows- no freedom as barred
in environment which isolated from other villages and houses
house mirrors narrator's emotions and feelings
deterioration of the house - may be haunted - "colonial mansion"
rings in the wall- asylum or prison than nursey
Decay- ''scratched and gouged and splintered'' floor/ the ''plaster'' full of holes, to the foul wallpaper

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first person perspective
use of “privately” suggests that the narrator believes that she is having a private conversation with someone
journal acts as somebody that the narrator can confide in
does not have anybody else to talk to, or anybody else to listen to her
madness also makes her an unreliable narrator - not wholly trust what she writes to be an accurate representation of her life
shows insight into the progressively deteriorating mind of the narrator
reader must rely entirely on one perspective rather than multiple- limited
describes the journal as “dead paper and a great relief to my mind”.
represents the narrators defiance against her husband and subsequently the patriarchal society he symbolises, as despite his desire to ban her from writing she persists - symbol of rebellion
reader a privileged view of her inner life.

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