ipl-logo

Essay On Symbolism And Imagery In The Yellow Wallpaper

933 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Setting and symbolism in the yellow wallpaper

In “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, symbolism and imagery are used creatively to examine the main character’s view of the wallpaper and how it changes throughout the story. The main character, also the narrator and protagonist of the story, was suffering from more than just postpartum depression, but also a possible case of schizophrenia. Throughout the short story, the narrator takes readers on a journey through how the psychosis, most likely caused by a possible diagnosis of PPD, and the yellow-papered room affecting her and her desire for freedom, using symbolism and imagery while slightly touching on point of view. The yellow wallpaper has become an obsession and fascination for the narrator, while she is becoming …show more content…

Due to the fact that she believes she is the woman trapped in the pattern, she also now feels as though that she is able to escape and never return to her controlling husband. As she identifies with the woman trapped in the wallpaper, “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be” (Stetson 653), it becomes obvious to readers that she may not be aware of her restrictions in her conscious mind, but her subconscious mind is. This causes the belief that John wants to help her and do what’s best for her, however -- that’s not the case. However, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is narrated by a mentally unstable person, which makes it especially hard to dissect the story because what she is seeing and what she thinks she is seeing, along with the mentions of Jennie and John, could be perceived differently by readers than what it was supposed to come across

Show More
Related
939 Words | 4 Pages

Societal Expectations are not Barriers Two inspiring pieces of literature called Macbeth by William Shakespeare and “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkings Gilman share one eminent theme, which is the suppression of the female gender. Societies often place barbaric labels on those who seem unworthy rather than fight the judgments that are concrete and see for themselves. Social ideas during the two diverse time periods demonstrate how women are not seen as powerful figures and insanity progress within those who are stereotyped. Women are seen as creatures that are ineligible to think for themselves in.

Read More
603 Words | 3 Pages

The Yellow Wallpaper The walls have eyes. It was believed that she was a prisoner in her summer home, by her husband, but its later shows that there are other contributing factors that that proves this may not be the case. According to her, she states, “There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down”.

Read More
552 Words | 3 Pages

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” the symbols and figurative language leave a lasting image on what the story has to offer. Symbolism and figurative language convey abstract meaning, by creating imaginative connections between our ideas and our senses. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” the symbolism is not the yellow wallpaper itself, but nearly the sub pattern behind it.

Read More
1248 Words | 5 Pages

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator is suffering from postpartum depression. The narrator 's husband John, who also happens to be her physician, prescribes the rest cure to help lift his wife of her depressive state and ultimately heal her depression. However, the rest cure does not allow the narrator to experience any mental stimulation. Therefore, to manage her boredom the narrator begins obsessing over the pattern of the yellow wallpaper. After analyzing the pattern for awhile, the narrator witnesses a woman trapped behind bars.

Read More
1122 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the generation, women have always been trapped in some way or another. In the short story, ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’ and the novel ‘The Awakening’ highlights the struggle of women in the late 1800’s and the early 1900s in society. The Yellow wallpaper is a short story about women giving birth and being imprisoned in a room with a weird view of the yellow wall-paper. This resulted in her hallucination lead to the development of mental illness. By the end of the story, she rips off the yellow wallpaper and kills her husband.

Read More
1113 Words | 5 Pages

Secondly, throughout the story, the narrator describes seeing an evolving woman trapped inside of the wall. Although readers can assume that this woman is merely a product of the narrator’s mind, the woman can also be seen as a symbol of the narrator and her feelings of being trapped. Eventually, the woman in the wall aids the narrator in her escape. In conclusion, many elements of the narrator’s increasing madness throughout The Yellow Wallpaper contributed to her freedom from the confines of the room, the confines of society, and the confines of her

Read More
1240 Words | 5 Pages

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the late 19th century, which explores the physical and mental deterioration of a woman who is prescribed the "rest cure" for her postpartum depression. The protagonist is a married woman who is forced to take the "rest cure" by her husband and Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell. In the process of the "rest cure", she was locked in a room with yellow wallpaper, which gradually deteriorated her mental state. The “rest cure” was a popular treatment for women's mental illness at the time, and it consisted of total bed rest, isolation, and a lack of intellectual stimulation. There are many elements related to Gothic literature and Gothic style in "Yellow Wallpaper".

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

Halie Boyd The Yellow Wallpaper Theme Essay The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman focuses mainly on womens rights. In the early 1900 's women could not think for themselves, were controlled constantly by men and had no right to thrive for an education. Women in the late 1800 's and early 1900 's had no choice to fend or think for themselves. " Person)ally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and changed, would do me good" (Gilman 648).

Read More
1008 Words | 5 Pages

However, we later see a shift in her feelings towards the wallpaper as she states that she is growing “really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper” and comes to a realization that it may be “because of the wallpaper” (Par 94) As her opinions on the wallpaper begin to change, the progression of her mental instability becomes increasing visible. She begins to build a relationship with the wallpaper and claims that “There are things in that paper that nobody knows about” (Par 22) her. As this relationship with the wallpaper builds, her sanity begins to slip, and the hallucinations begin in a somewhat minor manor. In her first mention of “the woman” she says that the pattern on the

Read More
802 Words | 4 Pages

“The Yellow Wallpaper” Literary Analysis The “Yellow Wallpaper” is a iconic short story written by Charlotte Perkins, a famous feminist author. The novel takes place the 19th century and deals with the issue of how women dealt with mental health issues, specifically postpartum depression. Back in the 19th century the way physicians dealt with women 's mental health was much different then it is today, back then they believed that the cure for depression was solvable by isolation and rest. As a result many women suffering from postpartum depression were forced into isolation which only made their situation worse. Jane; the narrator of the short story, is one of these woman forced into the rest treatment by her physician husband.

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

The short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story full of imaginative symbolism and descriptive settings. However, without the narrator’s unique point of view and how it affects her perception of her environment, the story would fail to inform the reader of the narrator’s emotional plummet. The gothic function of the short story is to allow the reader to be with the narrator as she gradually loses her sanity and the point of view of the narrator is key in ensuring the reader has an understanding of the narrator’s emotional and mental state throughout the story. It’s clear from the beginning of the story that the narrator’s point of view greatly differs from that of her husband’s and other family in her life.

Read More
1202 Words | 5 Pages

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story told through diary entries of a woman who suffers from postpartum depression. The narrator, whose name is never mentioned, becomes obsessed with the ugly yellow wallpaper in the summer home her husband rented for them. While at the home the Narrator studies the wallpaper and starts to believe there is a woman in the wallpaper. Her obsession with the wallpaper slowly makes her mental state deteriorate. Throughout The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses many literary devices such as symbolism, personification and imagery to help convey her message and get it across to the reader.

Read More
562 Words | 3 Pages

The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892 shows mental illness through the narrator first hand. The theme in this story is going insane verses loneliness as well as being trapped. These themes are shown through the main character (the narrator of the story) as she works through her own mind, life, and surroundings. First, the theme of the woman’s state of mind is the main focus in this story.

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

The short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a brilliant piece of fictional literature. The tale involves a mentally ill woman who is kept in a hideous, yellow room under the orders of her husband, John, who is a physician. The ill woman is conflicted due to the fact that the horrifying yellow wallpaper in the room is trapping a woman who she must help escape, but the sick woman is aware that she must get better in order to leave the terrifying, yellow room. The setting and personification applied in the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, allows readers to develop an understanding of the sickness of the main character faces.

Read More
484 Words | 2 Pages

The woman was going crazy in her own world as she saw something coming out the yellow wall. The wallpaper had a bright yellow color that drove the narrator crazy and tried to peel it down. The woman was fighting with her mental illness as she explains her influence of her personal life, a woman’s right, and her mental illness. A woman in the early 20th century wrote a story, her story was heard about her mental illness and she had no type of support. The narrator of the story “Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper” says, “It was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked” (Gilman

Read More

More about Essay On Symbolism And Imagery In The Yellow Wallpaper

Open Document