Yelow Walpaper annotations
The Yellow Wallpaper
Annotations
“It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer. A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity--but that would be asking too much of fate!”
She finds it odd that she got a large mansion type estate for the summer even though she is not wealthy.
The mentally insane of this time were often sent to insane asylums that were actually wide open estates because they believed the fresh air would help cure them.
So she wants it to be a haunted house—with her spirit?
“(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)”
Does this mean she feels more comfortable with the dead?
“That spoils my ghostliness”
She feels a part of her is already a ghost so part of her is already dead?
“It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide--plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
A description of her own fate she is not important enough to be seriously recognized instead she is just sent far away from normal society and yet she is bold enough in her personality to deem study of her worthwhile by the many doctors there with her. She seems relatively docile then she commits a very severe act of suicide. First mention of suicidal ideas but not the first of death is this a major theme then?
“Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous.” “This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had!”
First mention of a baby is very brief and she immediately goes back to the topic of how utterly horrible the wallpaper is.
The wallpaper is now pushing her to act as it wishes. Potential shift in story from her
Annotations
“It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer. A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity--but that would be asking too much of fate!”
She finds it odd that she got a large mansion type estate for the summer even though she is not wealthy.
The mentally insane of this time were often sent to insane asylums that were actually wide open estates because they believed the fresh air would help cure them.
So she wants it to be a haunted house—with her spirit?
“(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)”
Does this mean she feels more comfortable with the dead?
“That spoils my ghostliness”
She feels a part of her is already a ghost so part of her is already dead?
“It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide--plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
A description of her own fate she is not important enough to be seriously recognized instead she is just sent far away from normal society and yet she is bold enough in her personality to deem study of her worthwhile by the many doctors there with her. She seems relatively docile then she commits a very severe act of suicide. First mention of suicidal ideas but not the first of death is this a major theme then?
“Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous.” “This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had!”
First mention of a baby is very brief and she immediately goes back to the topic of how utterly horrible the wallpaper is.
The wallpaper is now pushing her to act as it wishes. Potential shift in story from her