The primary theme of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is that
women who are suffering from post-partum depression, or any kind of depression, should be respected and allowed to make decisions regarding their own lifestyle and health
.
What is the overall meaning of The Yellow Wallpaper?
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is driven by the narrator's sense that
the wallpaper is a text she must interpret
, that it symbolizes something that affects her directly. … Clearly, the wallpaper represents the structure of family, medicine, and tradition in which the narrator finds herself trapped.
What is the main theme in The Yellow Wallpaper?
The main themes in “The Yellow Wallpaper” are the
oppressive nature of gender roles, appearance versus reality, and the need for self-expression
.
What does The Yellow Wallpaper teach us?
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is an illustration of the
way a mind that is already plagued with anxiety can deteriorate and begin to prey on itself when it is forced into inactivity and kept from healthy work
.
What is the main conflict in The Yellow Wallpaper?
major conflict
The struggle between the narrator and her husband, who is also her doctor, over the nature and treatment of her illness
leads to a conflict within the narrator's mind between her growing understanding of her own powerlessness and her desire to repress this awareness.
Why does John faint at the end of the yellow wallpaper?
The reason for John to faint at the end of the story is
his shock provoked by the wife's mental state
. He prescribes the “rest therapy” to eliminate any distressing events that could worsen his wife's depression.
What is the significance of the ending of The Yellow Wallpaper?
At the end of the story,
the narrator believes that the woman has come out of the wallpaper
. This indicates that the narrator has finally merged fully into her psychosis, and become one with the house and domesticated discontent….
What was Gilman's purpose for writing The Yellow Wallpaper?
The Yellow Wallpaper was her way of bringing women's oppression to light by using medicine. In Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper she says her goal in writing the short story was
to prevent other people from going crazy
. But what I think she really meant was to keep people from going crazy under oppressive restrictions.
What mental illness does the woman in The Yellow Wallpaper have?
In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a woman suffering from
postpartum depression
is prescribed a “rest cure”. She is forced to stay in a room with yellow wallpaper which She says is “committing every artistic sin” (Gilman 419).
Why is the narrator obsessed with The Yellow Wallpaper?
Why is the narrator obsessed with the yellow wallpaper? The narrator appears to be connecting her writing with the wallpaper and becoming obsessed with the wallpaper
because the only thing she has control over seems to be her writing on paper and her ideas/obsession
with the wallpaper.
What does The Yellow Wallpaper say about gender roles?
Gilman's short story is a warning to her readers about the consequences of fixed gender roles assigned by male-dominated societies:
the man's role being that of the husband and rational thinker
, and the woman's role being that of the dutiful wife who does not question her husband's authority.
Why does the narrator hate the wallpaper at first?
The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” hates the wallpaper at first for
its dilapidated condition
, its confusing and irritating pattern, and its sickly color.
What is the climax of the story The Yellow Wallpaper?
The climax occurs when
the narrator liberates the woman (herself) from the wallpaper while at the same time completing her descent into insanity
. She is free at last to control her own destiny but lacks a rational mind to pursue it. Her husband faints at the sight of her.
Is the conflict resolved in The Yellow Wallpaper?
Answer and Explanation: In Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper”,
the conflict is not resolved
, as the story ends with the main protagonist rubbing against the wallpaper, having been driven to madness.
What does John symbolize in The Yellow Wallpaper?
John is a symbol of
patriarchal control
. John has absolute power over the narrator. He dictates where she lives and how.
What does the ending of the story suggest about the woman behind the wallpaper?
The ending of “The Yellow Wallpaper” suggests that the woman behind
the wallpaper is a manifestation of the protagonist's imagination and that the protagonist herself is the woman who has been trapped
.
