Please provide an analysis of symbolism in "The Yellow Wallpaper". Pick a symbol or two, such as the yellow wallpaper and the woman behind the pattern and discuss symbolic meaning as you see it.
300 words. Due Wednesday, 24 November by 11:59 pm.
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I think that the yellow wallpaper and the woman in the wallpaper are the most important symbols and the entire message of the story is conveyed through them. The wallpaper is a symbol of the world and all of its protocols. The woman views the wallpaper as disgusting and confining. She sees strangled head in it and can’t find any organization in it. It starts as an inconvenience and eventually becomes the major factor in what finally drove her over the edge. This is like the life a woman lived in the time period. She is confined by her husband and everyone else. They think that she needs rest, but they are actually strangling her creativity and any hope she had of getting better. The woman also can’t find order in life, she is lost and confused. The wallpaper could also be a symbol of her own mind. She feels trapped within it and when she is forced to be alone with it; it finally drives her completely insane, just like the yellow wallpaper. If the wallpaper is her mind and the status quo she must uphold, then the woman in the wallpaper is herself and every other woman in this time period. She feels trapped by society and her mind, only able to escape during night or by “creeping” around. She sees the woman as trying to get out as she is and she sympathizes with her, working tirelessly to free her. She projects her feelings onto the woman in the wallpaper too. She sees her trying to fit in with society, but just looking ridiculous. What started as a simple observation in the moonlight turns into a fantasy, which becomes an obsession until finally the woman believes that she is the woman in the wallpaper. The switch is seamless as she goes from referring to the woman to being the woman. This is perhaps the ultimate symbol because the symbolism blends into reality for this woman.
ReplyDeleteThe two main components of the story are the two main symbols, the yellow wallpaper and the woman behind the bars in the wallpaper.
ReplyDeleteMy belief is that the woman behind the yellow wallpaper has always been the woman that sees these hallucinations. The woman in the wallpaper is trapped behind bars, just as the woman in the room is trapped behind that bars on the windows. Being by herself all the time, like John orders, leads her from just seeing this woman creeping around to it becoming who she is. The hallucination becomes so much of a focus for her that she is swallowed up by the fact that she is trapped just like the creeping woman. The woman's oppression pushes her own mind into creating an outlet for her problems in this motion picture of the other woman, but soon enough the situation is unavoidable. The woman behind the bars is the on looking woman, just with all of the rage and frustration hanging loose. In the wallpaper, the woman is trying to break free, just as the other woman wants too. She sees herself doing it, so she must try to help the cause.
The yellow wallpaper is the world around her that seems to never take the right turn. She can never get better, because her husband, Jennie, and the doctor tell her that she is ill and must try all these medications. However, she never gets the chance to show she is healed, because she has come to know only what to do when they tell her. The yellow wallpaper is a grotesque and horrid thing that seems to haunt her everywhere she goes. When she discusses this opinion, she is actually talking about her view on the way she is treated. However, the yellow wallpaper becomes all she knows, and the “green” world becomes unappealing. This shows how powerful the opinions and oppression of the husband, Jennie, and everyone in contact with her really is.
I see the wallpaper as a very significant part in this story. I think that since she is sick and can do nothing but lay in bed and write, I think when she looks at what's on the wall, she see's much more than what is actually there. She see's lots of activity and movement to the point where she is seeing an illusion, which is where there really seems to be something more mentally wrong than physically, with this poor woman. Looking at this from a larger perspective and during the time period the story takes place in, I think that the woman represents all women at the time, and how they all were trapped because men made all of the actions at the time and the women were expected to follow. Both the woman in the wallpaper and the main character represent this since the main character is trapped inside of the room and the crawling woman is trapped inside of the wallpaper. Another symbol of the woman inside of the wallpaper is the main character. I feel like the crawling woman inside the yellow wallpaper is symbolic of the main character because since she is sick she is not allowed to go anywhere and not allowed to do anything, just like the woman trapped in the wallpaper. Once she rips down the paper, I think this is symbolic of her breaking free from the norm at the time and really letting herself go from all of the chains society put on her. Since she is believed be to be sick, her husband and brother both forbid her any type of movement whether it be strenuous or not. Not to mention they are both physicians. Her getting up and rapidly ripping down this forbidden trap on the wall shows her break through as well. Whether this break through represents her getting better or completely losing her mind is beyond me, but the symbolism in the story is very realistic. Although the story takes place long ago, the symbolism can be applied to today.
ReplyDeleteThe most obvious symbolism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was the yellow wallpaper and the woman trapped underneath it. It was symbolic of the narrator's own situation. The narrator was trapped inside the room with bars on the windows and had no where to go, nor anything to do. She was supposed to be recovering from her “sickness” which I believe was all in her head. She was mentally not right, and her hallucinations of the woman behind the wallpaper further proved it. The narrator saw the figure of a woman behind the paper and watched her struggle to get out. The wallpaper is representative of the narrator’s life. Her situation and sickness restrained her from having freedom. Just the way society was developed during this time had a lot to do with it. Women did not have equal rights. Plus, John did not allow her to use her imagination or be creative in any way because he worried about her health. She wasn’t free to be who she wanted to or live her life and started to become detached from reality. The visions of the woman in the wallpaper was a way for her to escape the real world. As the story goes on, she become more intrigued with this other fantasy life. All she wants is to help the woman in the wall get out and break free which shows her desire to be free from captivity. Eventually, she begins referring to the woman as herself. She sees the other women creeping and knows that she is not alone in the world. Other women are confined from being their own person and are forced to creep and hide behind what is considered normal. The narrator classifies herself as one of these people who need to be saved. She had to lose her mind and go crazy in order to understand her situation.
ReplyDeleteThe main symbols throughout this chapter are the woman behind the wallpaper and yellow wallpaper itself. I think that the woman who is “sick” and trapped up in this room starts to look for something in the wallpaper and she creates the creepy woman purposely. I think the whole thing was created in her mind and that the creepy lady resembled how the woman really felt. The ugly paper symbolizes the “bars” or a place where the woman cannot get away from. Her husband would not let her sleep in a different room with plain walls and he wouldn’t let her go visit with other people. I believe that the husband made his wife’s situation worse than it really was. If she was so emotional and suffering from post-partum then he should have let her had her freedom and distracted her so she would have been able to be distracted and forget the feelings that she was suffering from. The woman was looking for a pattern in the paper; but she couldn’t find one. I think this really bothered her and that was why she created the creepy woman trapped in the paper. The reason she had the strong urge to rip the paper off was because she wanted to free the woman, the woman who seemed to be trapped just like she was.
ReplyDeleteThe two biggest components of The Yellow Wallpaper are the two symbols, the wallpaper and the woman in the wallpaper. I think the woman in the wallpaper is a reflection of the woman trapped inside that room. She is barred in that room and all the thing that keep her sane are taken away from her so as to cure her. It’s like her husband is strangling or detaching the sanity just as wallpaper is describing strangling what’s inside it. As the woman in the room gets sicker she begins to hallucinate from staring at the wallpaper so intently, and I think she begins to become what she thinks she’s seeing. She starts to creep just like the woman in the wallpaper. She is essentially trapped in her own mind. And although her husband thinks taking away her writing and leaving her locked up is healthy for her, it’s really just making her sicker. It’s a mind game, and without the ability to express her feelings, she spirals down deeper into the whole she’s sinking in to. I think the wallpaper itself is symbolic of the outside world, especially in relation to the control her husband has over her. She’s confined to one room in her home. But at that point in time in the world, the male species was quite dominant over females. I think the husband always talking about how he’s a doctor and he knows best. Well clearly this time he doesn’t considering her conditioning is only worsening as time goes on. And because she can’t express herself in any way how would he ever know if her conditioning was getting better or worse? I think when she rips down the wallpaper it’s her saying that she wants to step out of the confines of society as well as the walls her husband has put around her. To be healthy and happy again, she needs to escape her imprisonment. It’s a sickness in her own mind, and if she wants to cure herself she needs to take control of her own life instead of the outside world, her husband, or other males controlling it for her.
ReplyDeleteI think the yellow wallpaper itself in this represents the cover that men put on women at this time. John wanted to take her out of the hype of every day life so she could rest and get better. John wouldn't even let her write in her journal. She had no human interaction other than John for like, three months. This shows that John wanted to keep her away from the world and everyone else. The color yellow can be associated with sickness. The woman in this story was considered to be sick. John also says that the worst thing for her to do is think about her illness. This represents the fact that when women tried to free themselves, (even in the case of freeing themselves mentally) men try to bring them back to their state of inferiority. The symbol of the woman behind the wallpaper is a huge symbol in this story. The woman behind the wallpaper represents the woman in the story trying to get out of her husband's grasp. The woman behind the wallpaper was trying to escape from the wallpaper, just like the woman in the story was trying to escape from her husband, and even her own mind.
ReplyDeleteTogether, I believe that the narrator and the yellow wallpaper represent a male-dominated society. The narrator is symbolic of the average woman of the time period. She is clearly subordinate to her husband, even though she does not agree with him on several points. He does not believe she is sick, and he limits her passion of writing. As a result, she must journal secretly and her mental health greatly deteriorates from her confinement in the room with yellow wallpaper. In previous times, it was typical for a male to be so controlling. Women were simply supposed to listen to their husbands, no matter the conditions. This greatly limited women’s freedom to pursue their interests, have a career or even travel away from home. In this short story, the narrator’s husband would not even let her visit their cousins. Meanwhile, the wallpaper, with its hideous yellow pattern, indicates the unjust nature of such a society. It confines the woman our narrator sees behind it, trapping her in its prejudiced world. It also mentioned that the wallpaper had a stench that spread throughout the house and that it was extremely difficult to remove. I believe that this is making a statement about sexism. Not only is it a disgusting philosophy to follow, but it is extremely difficult to remove from society. Even today, after all the strides women have made, gender stereotypes remain. These range from occupational expectations to ignorant jokes.
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol is the woman who is trapped behind the yellow wallpaper. She clearly represents a woman who has rebelled against the typical societal expectations of the time. The narrator witnesses her obvious Herculean struggle against the yellow wallpaper, as she must desperately fight to escape it. Not only does the narrator regard her as odd, but the woman must also resort to creeping. She simply cannot do as she pleases, as others would disapprove. The narrator eventually molds into this woman, as she too wishes to escape the limits of a sexist society.
The short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” has two big symbols in it, the horrendous yellow wallpaper and the creeping woman. The first that we know about is the wallpaper. The first thing that caught my attention is that it’s the color yellow which symbolizes both cowardice and deceit. I believe that looking at this through the feminist perspective it looks like the wallpaper as a whole may represent the disgust the author has for the oppressions set on women. According to the author I think that she thinks the oppressions set before them is because of the cowardice of men and that also it is a deceitful act to commit. The other symbol in the book that is obvious is the creeping woman. I feel like the most obvious thing that she represents is the woman herself. She is stuck being trapped by her own bars or her marriage and others around her and all she wants are her rights and to be able to live her life. Such things as mentioning how the “eyes” on the wallpaper are from women who try to escape and then are choked symbolizes her attempts to do something she deems as fun such as writing and being put down by those around her. The woman’s act of creeping I think is basically in the essence exactly what it says, the woman who is writing must sneak around to do anything and when she is close to being caught she quickly hides it so that no one can see. Then when she rips down the wallpaper to free the woman she is essentially trying to rip down the oppressions that hinder her own movements. Later when she creeps over her husband I feel that she is showing how she no longer wants to be the person who has to hide what she does and loves but become a person who can do what she wants in front of him “safely”.
ReplyDeleteOf the many symbols in The Yellow Wallpaper, the wallpaper may be the most important. It symbolizes the oppression women felt during the Victorian Era. Wallpaper is a very homely and domestic object, a fitting choice to represent the repression women often experienced. Also, the color yellow has traditionally been associated with sickness and weakness, which correlates with the mental anguish the main character is experiencing. Likewise, the unpleasant pattern consumes the woman’s mind, trapping her in the same way that her domestic life does. While the wallpaper psychologically ensnares the woman, she is also physically shut in by the walls that it covers. She was locked into the room by her husband, representing all men of that era, and feels as though she will never be able to “improve” while that constraint is present. Her determination to tear the wallpaper from the wall represents womankind’s struggle to overcome the tyranny that kept them hidden away from the rest of society. I find it very ironic that at the end of the story she is crawling over the body of her fallen husband, symbolizing the eventual triumph over male oppression.
ReplyDeleteTwo more objects that hold symbolism in the story are the barred windows in the woman’s bed chamber. They represent the woman’s dreams and aspirations; tantalizingly close, but always out of reach. Also, when she first begins to see the women behind the wallpaper escape, she sees her outside. This shows her dream of escaping the bondage of her husband and role as an upper-class housewife and pursuing her goals in life.
The woman that the main character sees behind the wall paper represents the main character herself. She is described as “all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern -- it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads.” The many heads could symbolize the many interests the woman would like to pursue, such as visiting with friends or writing. It was only by pulling the wallpaper down that the woman was able to escape.
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ReplyDeleteLooking at the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” through a feminist view I believe the two main symbols were the yellow wallpaper and the woman behind the wallpaper. I believe the wallpaper stood for the plain lives that women led. The wallpaper was stained and unevenly colored due to the amount of light it had recieved. The paper went nowhere, did nothing, and was hardly noticed. During the time of this story most woman were not treated special or fairly by men. Women mostly stayed at home where they ate, took care of children, and slept. I believe that the boring lives the women held were symbolized through the worn and boring wallpaper. Then there's the woman who creeps behind the wallpaper trying to get out. To me the woman symbolizes all women in that society. Together I believe both symbols were trying to show that women wanted a change. The woman behind the wallpaper tried to get out, but never could. The insignificant lives women held tied them down and prevented them from expiriencing life to the fullest. The actual woman of the story began to express feelings of sympathy and pity for the woman behind the paper. Slowly the woman becomes increaingly derranged and wishes to unleash the woman behind the paper. In doing so it shows that changing from society's standards was becoming more of a need then a want.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there are two major symbols in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. First of all the wallpaper itself is a symbol. I believe that the design of the wallpaper reflects the main character’s mind set. As if goes through the story the main character talks more and more about the wallpaper. She becomes more obsessed with it as the story goes along, and with that she becomes more and more insane. The wallpaper is defiantly a reflection on her sanity. Also I feel that the wallpaper symbolizes the world that the woman lives in. Her life seems crazy, she is not allowed to do anything, she struggles with post-partum depression, and her husband believes that she is not sick. The talk about the strangled head and the eyes in the wallpaper represents her life. She feels strangled by her husband; he allows her to do almost nothing and cannot make her own choices. The other symbol in the book is the woman trapped behind the bars of the wallpaper. I think his symbolizes the main character herself. She feels trapped in that room constantly. At the end of the book you even see the shift of her believing there is a woman trapped behind the wallpaper to her thinking that she is that woman behind the wallpaper. When her husband finds her creeping around the room she really thinks that he is trying to put her back in the wall. The fact that she had been forced to rest and stay in that room for so long made her seriously believe that her husband was trying to trap her there.
ReplyDeleteThe main symbol in the story is definitely the yellow wall paper with the so called woman behind it. To me the wall paper represents the woman’s life. It seems like she is trapped in this world that she desperately wants to get out of. I think her husband is the one that is trapping her in and causing her hate for where she is in life. I also think that the wall paper is significant because it is a woman trapped and not a man. I think the author was stressing the placement of women in society during the time and used the woman to express it. I think the woman in the story was perfectly fine in the beginning, which I see as representing her life. Through her childhood she was fine just like in the beginning of the story and she never knew she was discriminated. As the story grows and progresses I feel that her realization that she has no power over men in society is when she starts growing up and understands it.
ReplyDeleteI think another symbol in the story is the bed. To me the bed seemed like we kept going back to it for a certain reason. I feel like that was the one thing she had stable in her life. It was constantly with her and it was even bolted to the floor. I think to her the bed was a symbol of how she was before she discovered this yellow wall paper and the woman. I believe that the bed was big and strong because it was reminding her how women could be in the time when people didn’t allow women to be strong. I think the bed is what kept her fighting and made her keep looking for answers within the wall paper. This story overall was very strange and different and I think without looking at the symbols you probably wont be able to fully grasp what the author was trying to get across.
For such a short story, there is a great deal of symbolism in the story The Yellow Wallpaper. The first instance of it is in, of course, the actual wallpaper. The wallpaper is described in great detail throughout the story, to a point where the narrator's description becomes obsessive, which adds to the overall theme of mental breakdown. In my opinion the Wallpaper represents the narrator's insecurities and fears. This can be seen when early in the story the first thing the narrator notices is the wallpaper when entering her new room. This relates to the stress that she is experiencing with her new found entrapment. Later on in the story she begins to see distorted figures in the wallpaper, which coincides with her increased stress and mental deterioration. Her constant contemplation of the wallpaper is indicative of her being trapped by her depression. The color of the wallpaper is also symbolic. While yellow is normally seen as a vibrant and lively color, the wallpaper's yellow is described as stained and fading. This coloring implies rot, which is another symbol of the narrator's mental decay. Another use of symbolism is in the wall that is underneath the wall paper. This area only becomes visible when the narrator tears off the wallpaper, which symbolically represents her tearing away of her fears and insecurities. Here she finds white space that is free of the fear and depression of her former life, and she lets go of her sanity in order to let go of the emotional and mental stress of her existence. This tragic but fascinating turn of events can all be seen through what happens with the wallpaper, which goes from decaying to torn, just like the narrator's psyche.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the wallpaper in the story symbolizes the fact that our main character is trapped in a marriage where she is controlled and not taken seriously. Every time she tried telling her husband about how she felt about something that was wrong with her, such as the fact that the wallpaper irritated her, he just told her not to cause trouble. He would not take her seriously even though everything she said to him was yet another cry for help, and as her husband and her doctor he did not do a very good job at either. I also believe the woman behind the wallpaper is our main character herself, trying to escape from a life where her thoughts don't matter. I feel sorry for her because she had some very real concerns yet her husband would not even listen to her. No matter how many times she pleaded her case, it made no difference, just as no matter how much the woman behind the bars pulled and tugged on the bars she could not escape either. I believe that at the end of the story, when the woman behind the bars escapes and the main character starts creeping around the room this is when she has had enough of not being heard or listened to, and her husband may not be able to fix this. The wallpaper could also symbolize her husband, and even her illness itself, because both are factors that are holding her back.I also think the furniture in the story is a symbol, because when the narrator was young she used to believe that if she sat in a certain chair in her room she would be safe from all she feared, I believe that the bed in the nursery symbolizes the same thing. It was the only place she was really safe from herself in the house. And I know my blog is really late but I'm posting it anyways.
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