The Yellow Wallpaper Reaction

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman exemplifies what an affect sexism can have on a person. During the story, we see the narrator’s depression transform into madness. Because of her depression, the narrator is placed in an isolated room which is also likely due to her gender. Women were looked at to be so inferior to men at that time, so when the slightest weakness is seen in her, her husband takes advantage of the opportunity and suggests that she remain in confinement until she is well again. Consequently however, this drives her even deeper into her repression. During that time period, women were expected to be content with taking care of the housework and children, but because she was unwell, she was not even allowed to do that much. What is most interesting is how well she listens to her husband. Their relationship seems to resemble more of a father-daughter relationship rather than a married couple. This is exemplified when the narrator attempts to voice her feelings but, “stopped short, for he sat up straight and looked at me with such a stern, reproachful look that I could not say a word.” This implies that if she were able to actually have a true conversation with her husband, she may have been able to retain some sanity. Instead, she is driven crazy by this significant yellow wallpaper and a woman trapped behind it. By the end of the story, it can be concluded that the woman behind the wallpaper really resembled the narrator, trapped in her own mind. She seeks freedom through her writing but it is not enough to fulfill her. Instead, the loneliness she feels overtakes her and she physically becomes the woman by creeping about. By ripping off the wallpaper, she rips off the confinement her husband, John has placed upon her and she is now able to create her own identity. While she was slightly mad before she was placed in the solitary room, the inferiority and loneliness she feels drives her even further into insanity.