Yellow Wallpaper

     In Tuesday's lecture, there was a lively discussion on the use of symbols in "The Yellow Wallpaper". After learning of the "rest cure" used on the ladies in the past, I was able to understand more clearly the symbol of the wallpaper. The common treatment for women who showed signs of depression was to administer a combination of physical and mental isolation, rendering the patient weakened in spirit. It is disabling and often breaks the patient's will in order to deem what is "proper" in the cult of domesticity for women. Men wanted females to be submissive and dependent on males, only focusing on raising the children and housework.

     The "Yellow Wallpaper" is a reflection of that treatment on the author, using the wallpaper to represent the mental state of the author. As the story begins, the author is at a good state and as the story progressed, the author is subjugated to the stress of the "cure". With mental isolation and physical confinement, the mind and body gradually wither away and so does the wallpaper in the story, turning into yellow and tattered. When she is finally free from the treatment, the paper is gone, representing the end of her agony.