“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story describing the result of using “rest cure” in hopes to cure a nervous condition and mental state of mind. The main character in the story, Jane, believes that with some slight change and excitement, her mental health could be improved. However, her husband who is a physician believes that the best cure for Jane is rest. As the story prolongs, it is shown how the prescribed cure for Jane only weakens her mental stability instead of strengthening it. Jane is held back from things she enjoys doing; meanwhile; she has a husband who does not even give recognition to her opinion of even her own health. The main character’s mental decline is brought about due to her husband John’s …show more content…
She is not improving with her husband’s orders, but she has now surprisingly become fascinated with the wallpaper. The paper already had small tears in parts of it, so Jane decided that she was going to peel the rest of it away herself in hopes of seeing the woman inside of it set free. An online discussion about the ending of the story states, “Towards the end of the story, she narrates as if she is healing and recovering” (Kim). As the peeling of the wallpaper progresses, the narrator reveals that Jane actually sees herself stuck behind the hideous, yellow wallpaper. This holds an important symbol in the story. As Jane is ripping off the wallpaper, she is also tearing away her restraints that her husband had brought upon her. A description of the escape of the narrator states, “They just stood by their husbands, and became imprisoned by the power of their own lovers” (The Gentle Giant). During this time, it was normal for women to not have much of a say. Jane had been trapped all this time. She had listened to her husband’s command and abided by his rest cure that was prescribed to her. She knew that even though she had a different opinion, it would not have as much as an impact as her husbands. John had caused Jane to become imprisoned all alone in the room upstairs. She became trapped by her own thoughts, and her physician husband’s solution only worsened her