The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis Assignment, Essay Example

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story that examines many social issues that exist in today’s society from mental illness, misdiagnosis in the medical profession, and the many different forms of social, familial, and mental confinement.  The author uses the written words of the narrator to tell the story in a very easily read format.  A couple moves into a new home for the summer, and the narrator attempts to describe the events that take place in her new surroundings and examines her thoughts and feelings.  It is important to understand the purpose behind the writing of this story to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for this exhilarating work.  The purpose of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is to examine the many different types of social, familial and supernatural forms of confinement and explain to the reader how it is necessary to attempt to receive freedom in each case.

The narrator experiences a number of cases for restricting her freedom or being confined by many different factors throughout the story.  The first case of this happening comes in the form of social confinement where the narrator is inhibited by her husband, sister-in-law and the medical community at large.  The main supporting characters within the story are medical professionals, her husband and brother, and neither believes that she is truly sick and that the problems are all in her mind.  She writes in her diary and describes to the reader that she has a case of depression and nervousness that is impossible to overcome.  She literally feels sick and unwell, but her husband and brother continue to believe that it is all in her mind.  Any attempt that she makes to express her illness to other doctors is squashed because of how well her husband’s medical opinion is valued within the health care community.  The narrator is confined to her illness and is not allowed to get well because of the social confinement she receives from the medical community through her husband.  Despite this problem, the narrator continues to try to seek out more medical opinions and attempt to gain her freedom from the social confinement that her husband and brother-in-law have brought upon her.

This brings up the next point that the narrator is confined through the many familial factors that exist.  Her husband is the most apparent source of confinement.  Within the medical community, his opinion keeps the narrator confined within her illness and reduces any chance that she will actually completely recover.  Furthermore, the husband continues to confine her within their own home.  She is confined in her behaviors by John, the husband, because he will not allow her to write freely, which is a habit that the narrator has come to enjoy very much.  John believes that his wife is actually sick because of the writing and he tells his sister to watch over the narrator and keep her from performing these dangerous activities.  Every time the narrator suggests that she move out of the room with the yellow wallpaper and perform any specific actions or behaviors, John quickly cuts her off and attributes these thoughts to the illness or a lack of sleep.  Her husband does not allow her to go visit with her family, and she is not allowed to sleep in one of the downstairs bedrooms, all because of her husband.  Even though her actions are restricted, the narrator continues to fight for freedom by writing in her diary.  The author includes this in the story so that the reader continues to understand the importance of fighting confinement and always striving for freedom.  This is probably the greatest form of confinement that the narrator faces throughout the story, until the climactic ending where she is completely possessed by a supernatural being.

The final level of confinement comes in the form of a supernatural, mystical form that traps both the woman behind the wallpaper and the narrator herself.  As the story evolves, the narrator begins to examine her new room with the yellow wallpaper that was originally a child’s play room, which is actually why there are bars in the windows.  A twist in the plot comes when the narrator realizes that there is a woman that is confined behind the wallpaper, and is apparently only visible to the narrator.  The bars and the pattern of the wallpaper keep her confined throughout the entire story until the ending in which she escapes with the help of the narrator.  As the story progresses over the 3-month time period, the woman slowly escapes from her confinement behind the wallpaper, first by becoming visible to the narrator and then by being seen walking around outside by the gardens.  The narrator eventually decides to fight the woman’s confinement and help her achieve her freedom by scratching away the wallpaper and releasing her.  Her husband eventually comes home to find that his wife is no longer there and may have been possessed by the woman from the wallpaper.  Although it is unclear what he sees in the story, the reader is led to believe that it is something so horrific or shocking that it literally makes him faint.  This action can be considered a metaphor where both the woman and the narrator receive their freedom from confinement.  The narrator receives her freedom from the confinement of the social and familial sources, although her freedom may come at a price as she may actually be permanently confined by supernatural powers.  On the other hand, the woman from the wallpaper receives her freedom from the supernatural confinement she received from the wallpaper and the bars of the room.

In all cases, the author is making it clear to the reader that there are many different forms of confinement and the actions of the characters within the story showcase the importance for fighting against confinement and striving to gain freedom.  Social, familial and supernatural forms of confinement exist within the story, but the narrator never stops trying to gain her freedom from any source.  This story has a fascinatingly obscure climax that makes it unclear what truly happens to the characters, but it is safe to assume that the woman and the narrator have both received some form of freedom from their main sources of confinement.  The author tells this story to explain to the reader that freedom is worth the fight and should continue to be fought for in every aspect of our lives.