The Yellow Wallpaper
Nick O’Conor
The Interpretation of Literature
Professor Lisa Dresback
2/5/14
Response Journal, February 5th
1. The yellow wallpaper in this story is a symbol of the traditional domestic life, of the narrator and many women during this time period. As the story progresses, the narrator begins to notice a deeper pattern in the wallpaper. At first, the narrator sees the paper as merely hideous and unpleasant color of yellow to look at. However, she eventually concludes that the sub-pattern is representative of trapped women, who are desperate to escape the paper that cages them in. Much like the bars that cover the windows in the narrator’s bedroom. This is significant because it represents the narrator’s ability to overcome the sickness that traps her mind.
2. Some other symbols in the story that intensify the theme are her writing journal and the windows. The narrator uses a personal journal to record her feelings and thoughts throughout the story. The journal is symbolic of her slow conversion into insanity and allows a way for her think about her sickness, making it worse. The windows that the narrator often spends time looking out of are a symbol of the separation between women like herself, who are trapped in a domestic life, and the women who have escaped that life.
3. “Did not that sound innocent? But I know she was studying that pattern, and I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself!” (Gilamn 485).
At this point in the story, the narrator is writing about how she caught Jennie, the housemaid studying the yellow wallpaper. I found this particularly interesting because Jennie is the only other woman who lives in the house. She too experiences the traditional domestic life of women, and I think she is studying the wallpaper because she too notices the abnormal sub-pattern. It seems as if the narrator is worried that Jennie might figure out that there are women trapped behind the paper. I think the whole situation is symbolic of
The Interpretation of Literature
Professor Lisa Dresback
2/5/14
Response Journal, February 5th
1. The yellow wallpaper in this story is a symbol of the traditional domestic life, of the narrator and many women during this time period. As the story progresses, the narrator begins to notice a deeper pattern in the wallpaper. At first, the narrator sees the paper as merely hideous and unpleasant color of yellow to look at. However, she eventually concludes that the sub-pattern is representative of trapped women, who are desperate to escape the paper that cages them in. Much like the bars that cover the windows in the narrator’s bedroom. This is significant because it represents the narrator’s ability to overcome the sickness that traps her mind.
2. Some other symbols in the story that intensify the theme are her writing journal and the windows. The narrator uses a personal journal to record her feelings and thoughts throughout the story. The journal is symbolic of her slow conversion into insanity and allows a way for her think about her sickness, making it worse. The windows that the narrator often spends time looking out of are a symbol of the separation between women like herself, who are trapped in a domestic life, and the women who have escaped that life.
3. “Did not that sound innocent? But I know she was studying that pattern, and I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself!” (Gilamn 485).
At this point in the story, the narrator is writing about how she caught Jennie, the housemaid studying the yellow wallpaper. I found this particularly interesting because Jennie is the only other woman who lives in the house. She too experiences the traditional domestic life of women, and I think she is studying the wallpaper because she too notices the abnormal sub-pattern. It seems as if the narrator is worried that Jennie might figure out that there are women trapped behind the paper. I think the whole situation is symbolic of