The Yellow Wallpaper

When reading The Yellow Wallpaper, what stuck out the most to me was the relationship between the protagonist and her husband, John. Their relationship takes the form of being borderline abusive, not physically but emotionally. The narrator captures the essence of the relationship through her internalization of inferiority. Such is evident through quotations such as “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (Gilman 1). This problematic perspective leads to the narrator having an almost childlike naivety and acceptance of the situation as being the norm. She constantly refers to her husband’s oppressive actions as loving, and goes as far as dismissing her critiques of him as being her fault because of her “nervous condition” (Gilman 2).

The nature of their spousal relationship ultimately leads to the deterioration of the protagonist’s mental state because her husband forces her into the rest cure which isolates her and prevents her from being able to express her emotions. This emotional neglect and deprivation causes her to seek solace in the yellowing wallpaper of the room she is in. She creates images and stories from the patterns in the wall as an escape from the depression that plagues her. This aspect of the story reminded me of my childhood when I had a crippling fear of the dark, and I would lay in bed at night and stare at the same spots of the stucco ceiling and see what different patterns, shapes and images I could make of the random assortment of white dots above me.