The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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The yellow wallpaper in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story plays a significant role in illuminating the narrator’s psychological unraveling. On a literal level, the wallpaper serves as a symbol of the narrator’s confinement within her oppressive domestic life. From the beginning, the narrator is presented as a woman who is struggling to find her place in the world. She is in a state of emotional limbo and her husband’s treatment of her only serves to further her sense of entrapment and powerlessness. The yellow paper serves as a visual representation of the narrator’s psychological state, which is a state of despair and confusion. The paper is described as “unclean” and “repellent” and is covered in a pattern that is “dull enough to confuse