Alejandra Yanez Eng 1B Blog

         In "The Yellow Wallpaper" symbolism takes a significant meaning towards the way women were and are still being dominated by men. The narrator of the story is a women possibly suffering from post pardum pregnancy. Her husband John (who also is a physician) completely isolates her from having any real contact with anyone except for himself and his sister. Gilman writes, "If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do? (266).  He tries to cover up the fact that his wife is suffering from more than a simple nervous depression. The yellow wallpaper symbolize John's dominance over his wife by trying to mask/cover up the fact that his wife is suffering from more than a nervous breakdown. John tries to keep his wife covered like a wallpaper so that no one suspects that she is indeed sick like she claims to be. He feeds her with sound words and make her powerless against all that he says. Gilman states, "But he said I wasn't able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there...., "He said I was his darling and his comfort and all he had, and that I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep well" (271). This isolation that his wife receives crosses over to the yellow wallpaper by generating a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability coming from the wife.

       The symbolism that the wallpaper transforms itself is into desperation coming from John's wife in trying to escape from isolation. Gilman writes, "And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern- it strangles so.." (276). By tearing down the yellow wallpaper she is letting out months of feeling over analyzed as being incompitent, powerless, isolated, and not being given the chance to fully recover. Her husband makes all the decisions without any consent from her. The yellow wallpaper despite being "repellent, revolting" (267) gave her sense of hope and being able to strip and rid off her inner frustration. Gilman states, "If those heads were covered or taken off it would not be half so bad" (276). She wants to feel like she still has some control of her life and the decisions that are being made for her. Those heads that she claims to see behind the wallpaper are a symbolism of dominance that her husband and sister have over her. The woman or women she claims are trying to crawl out from behind the yellow wallpaper is symbolizing her struggle with herself and those people trying to dominate her.