"The Yellow Wallpaper"

Even after our group discussion I feel like there are several unanswered questions about what really went on in "The Yellow Wallpaper." However, I do feel as if I have come to my personal conclusion of what happened in this story. At first I was convinced that the woman wasn't necessarily crazy, but that her husband wanted her to believe that she was. After discussing the topic with the class, I do think that something was altering her, but only slightly. Anybody can relate to that, especailly if it involes a change of pace like having a baby. It didn't seem like she was as crazy as John tried to make her believe. I agree with all the others, who have said that it was him locking her up in the house, constantly telling her what to do as if she were a child, and the numerous times he mentioned her illness, that all contributed to her actually going crazy. It became apparent that she didn't like the person she had become so she spent her days trying to brake away from John's control. She felt as if she were locked in a prison with no way out, but she found, what she would consider, the best place to start regaining part of herself. Her tearring the wallpaper that she hated so much, I thought, represented her saying goodbye to being in posession of her husband. She saw a woman in the paper, which I also agree with others, that the woman she saw was really her. I think the descriptions of the wallpaper were a very important part of this story as well. "The whole thing goes horizonatlly, too, at least it seems so, and I exhaust myself in trying to distinguish the order of its going in that direction (Gilman. 371)." I think this statement describes her confusion within herself, pondering if she honestly was crazy or if she was just portrayed that way. Not knowing the answer to this question led her to craziness! As her "condition" progressed so did her freedom. Once the wallpaper was removed her status of being controled disappeared. I am led to believe that is why she was convinced she got out at last. One thing that does seem to be a mystery is wither she killed herself or could it have been her plan to kill her husband with the rope and that was why he fainted and asked "For God's sake, what are you doing! (Gilman. 378)"?


Source:

Gilman, Charlotte. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Literature, reading, reacting, writing. Thomson Wadsworth. compact sixth edition. Boston: Michael Rosenberg, 2007. 366-378.