The Yellow Wallpaper

     “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells the story of the narrator, a middle-class woman and her husband, John, as they spend their summer vacation in an old house. The narrator records all of her thoughts during their vacation in this secret writing. The narrator spends most of her time in the upstairs bedroom, per her husband’s request, despite her desire to move to a room downstairs. While in the bedroom, which is covered in a horrible, yellow wallpaper, the narrator nearly immerses herself in the wallpaper. 

    Between describing the patterns, or lack thereof, the narrator also briefly discusses the troubles in her marriage and her illness. Her husband, she explains, is a physician who doubts that she is sick at all, speaking to her in a way that makes her feel crazy. The pattern of dialogue in the story shows the reader that the wallpaper, although frustrating to the narrator, also serves as a distraction from the apparent issues in her marriage. Towards the end of the story, the narrator reaches her breaking point. She has convinced herself that she is surrounded by other women, who have come out of the wallpaper and “creep around” the property; she also says later that she is one of them. This abrupt ending shows the reader how ill the narrator truly was, despite her husband consistently convincing her that she was improving. 

    Throughout the story, the author tries to make the “conflict” between the narrator and the wallpaper the main point of interest. However, I could not look past the way the husband treated her. Even though John rarely made an appearance throughout the, the conflict between the narrator and her husband was blatant. It was very frustrating to watch the narrator be manipulated and controlled by her husband, even when he was not present. The narrator was often very worried about her physical state, and explained in detail the symptoms she was experiencing, which got progressively worse. The narrator would often say phrases such as “of course it is only nervousness” or “I am glad my case is not serious”, completely undermining her illness (76). Along with convincing herself that she is improving, she also convinces herself that her husband is a good man, despite his manipulative and abusive ways. She repeatedly says things to herself, for example, “[h]e is very careful and loving” (76).

    This conflict with her husband, along with the conflict she is in with the wallpaper, all lead to an internal discussion with herself, which ultimately makes her delusional. The reader sees areas in the story where the narrator almost seems to be having a conversation with herself on paper. Even though it is clear to the reader that the narrator is definitely sick, I would argue that her husband, John, played a major role in her quick decline. He was always undermining her illness, and treated her as inferior, giving her no importance in their relationship. Because of her abusive relationship with her husband, the narrator was forced to deal with these issues herself, which became too much for her in the end.