The Yellow Wallpaper: Review

Charlotte Perkins Stetson’s short story “The Yellow Wall-Paper” is a story of the main heroine’s gradual descent into insanity. However, this story is not simply a psychological commentary or an attempt to figure out or describe the anatomy of going mad. This is rather a study of human relationships, especially the spousal, during the times when women depended on their husbands for their livelihood. In fact, the main theme of the story is probably entrapment. Jane is stuck in her husband’s reality the way that imaginary woman is stuck in between layers of pattern within the wallpaper. Jane tries to break out, but she does not have the physical or emotional power to do so. Her entrapment is not obvious at the first glance, because she and her husband seem to have a loving relationship. He is always trying to prevent her from succumbing to her unhealthy urges. And she is always agreeable in order not to upset him or feel guilty about being a nagging wife of a sort. In reality, he is quite obstinate and blind to the deterioration of his wife’s mental and emotional states. And she simply does not have enough mental or emotional stamina to stand up for herself. Besides, she must always fight the guilt of being an ingrate. And it looks like she has postpartum depression. It would be helpful to look deeper into the relationship and pretty much all of the dialogue between the spouses to see that the wallpaper really is not the culprit. The husband’s lack of understanding and the unwillingness to hear out and take her seriously finally take Jane’s sanity. She is another victim of marriage, much like the main heroine in “The Story of an Hour.”