There are many male influences in this woman's life and although they may mean no harm, they eventually push her over the edge. The main character's husband, John, and her brother are well-known physicians. They use their power to control the main character, whose name we never learn, to feel what they think a woman should feel. For example, the woman tells the men she is sick, but they believe differently. "John is a physician and perhaps that is one reason that I do not get well faster. You see he does not believe I am sick!" The men under the impression that what they say goes and therefore the woman has no illustrates that the men are in control. If they strongly believe nothing is wrong, then nothing must be wrong. It is a feeling of self

The main character knows John loves her, but it is the oppression she feels that bothers her so. Her husband expresses his love for her but at the same time imposes his will on her. He hinders her from having our own thoughts. "..John is very careful and loving, and hardly let's me stir without special direction...." The last few words of this quote show how John did not let her have any freedom because he was always there. John acts as if he knows what the main character feels at all the times. The main character had absolutely no freedom, for her husband would let nothing happen unless he was there to supervise. An example of this treatment is when she wanted to get out of the house and visit some cousins, but John insisted she really did not want to go. "Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick. I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julie! But he said I wasn't able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there..." The main character understands her husband loves her, but he insists on her doing what he wants her to do. John says she will not stand after she got there, but how did he know this? John has absolutely no idea how his wife feels, he just imposes his ways on her and expects her to abide. John sees no reason why his wife should go so therefore he believes she should not. He does not consider her wanting to go a good enough reason for him to let her go visit.

The main's character oppression is due to her husband, but the house and specifically the room she stayed in helped her realize who she really was, and helped her find the freedom she looked for. The yellow wallpaper which covered the room disturbed her greatly. At the beginning of the story she hated the color. "The color is repellent, almost revolting, ...Dull...I should hate it myself if I had to live in this room long." Through this the woman expresses her feelings towards the room, but specifically the wallpaper. Throughout her stay at the house and as the oppre

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Approximate Word count = 1403
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)