The Yellow Wallpaper

A detailed Summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

The story entitled "The Yellow Wallpaper" by author Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows one-woman's struggle with mental illness to the point of insanity. The narrator appears to believe she is living in a colonial mansion. However based on the descriptions given throughout the story it appears she is in fact in an asylum.

The main character is thrust into the story as the narrator as she tries to make sense of her situation using symbolism and descriptions to explain the state of her relationship with her husband, what she feels inside, and what she wishes to feel. The journey points out how early mental illness was poorly dealt with, if dealt with at all. Sometimes treatments given with the best of intentions could cause more harm than good.

There is no background in this story before the couple arrives at the mansion. As the narrator begins, John and his wife have come to the colonial mansion which he has rented for the summer as a place for his wife to get some much needed rest and relaxation fr

Over time she sees things in the wallpaper. She progresses from seeing changes in the wallpaper design to shapes moving. She starts seeing formless figures moving behind the wallpaper. The figure later becomes that of a woman shaking the pattern from behind as if wanting to get out. The narrator thinks the woman gets out during the daytime because she talks about seeing the woman from the wallpaper creeping about the gardens, the shaded lane, and even the long road under the trees. Moreover, the narrator goes from talking of the woman in third person to first when she says, "I don't blame her a bit. It must be very humiliating to be caught creeping by daylight." "I always lock the door when I creep by daylight." "I can't do it at night, for I know John would suspect something at once" (1030). Toward the end of the story the narrator mentions, " I wonder if they all come out of the wallpaper as I did?" Of course, the narrator is speaking of the other figures of women she had seen in the wallpaper.

The narrator's exa

Some common words found in the essay are:
Perkins Gilman, John Jennie, Jennie John's, Trap Mind, colonial mansion, Yellow Wallpaper, taking care, taking care baby, story narrator, mental illness, care baby,

Approximate Word count = 690
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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The Yellow Wallpaper

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