The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

12 Questions

What does John recommend for the woman's illness?

Taking tonics and resting

Why does the woman disagree with John's approach to her illness?

She thinks working would be more beneficial for her health

What is the woman's feeling towards the nursery room wallpaper?

It is torn and grotesque, with a strange atmosphere

Why does the woman feel trapped and controlled?

Due to restrictions imposed by John

What does the woman become increasingly obsessed with in the mansion?

The woman in the wallpaper

Why does the woman struggle to communicate her true feelings to John?

John dismisses her feelings and is authoritative

What does the narrator become fixated on in the text?

The wallpaper

How does the narrator feel about the wallpaper pattern?

It emanates a strange smell

What imagery is revealed when the narrator peels off the wallpaper?

Strangled heads and bulbous eyes

How does the narrator feel about being trapped by the wallpaper?

Empowered

What is John's reaction to the narrator's behavior?

He becomes concerned

How does the confrontation between John and the narrator end?

The narrator proclaims freedom from John and the wallpaper

Study Notes

The narrator, a woman, is staying in a colonial mansion with her husband John, who is a practical physician.
John dismisses her illness as temporary nervous depression and recommends rest, tonics, and no work.
The woman disagrees with this approach, believing that engaging in congenial work would be more beneficial for her health.
She describes the mansion as beautiful but with a strange atmosphere, particularly focusing on the nursery room with torn, grotesque wallpaper.
The woman feels trapped and controlled by John, who restricts her activities and decisions for her supposed well-being.
She becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in the nursery, seeing a woman trapped behind the pattern that changes in different lighting.
The woman expresses her desire to leave the mansion, feeling increasingly afraid of John's behavior and suspicious of Jenny, the caretaker.
Despite feeling isolated and controlled, the woman struggles to communicate her true feelings and fears to John due to his dismissive and authoritative attitude.
The narrative reflects the woman's declining mental state, as she becomes more paranoid, anxious, and fixated on the mysterious woman in the wallpaper.
The story ends with the woman's growing fear of John, the wallpaper, and her surroundings, hinting at a deteriorating mental condition.- The narrator is secretly observing John and Jenny, noticing suspicious behavior and interactions related to a mysterious wallpaper in the room.
The narrator becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, finding a strange yellow smell emanating from it and noticing a woman creeping behind the pattern.
Over time, the narrator becomes increasingly fixated on the wallpaper pattern, believing that there are multiple women trapped behind it.
The narrator starts peeling off the wallpaper in a fit of desperation and anger, revealing disturbing imagery like strangled heads and bulbous eyes in the pattern.
Despite attempts to remove the wallpaper and escape from its influence, the narrator's mental state deteriorates as they feel trapped and controlled by the wallpaper.
The narrator begins to imagine themselves as one of the trapped women in the wallpaper, feeling a sense of liberation in their confinement within the room.
John, the narrator's husband, becomes concerned about the narrator's behavior and tries to intervene by demanding to enter the room, but the narrator refuses to let him in.
Eventually, John breaks into the room and discovers the narrator's actions, leading to a dramatic confrontation where the narrator proclaims their freedom from John and the wallpaper.