Literary Symbolism In The Yellow Wallpaper By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Literary Symbolism Symbolism in literature is unique because it can give a simple object a much more complex meaning. Symbols can stand for a variety of things, including ideas, beliefs, actions, visual images, and many others. Skilled writers in literature often use symbols so the readers can further interpret a story. Sometimes, the same object can even symbolize two different meanings in a story. The birthmark, the hot-air balloon, and the yellow wallpaper are all symbols that represent a deeper meaning in the stories they play a role in. In the first story we read, “The Birth-Mark,” the mark on Georgiana’s face represents an imperfection that everyone has. The image on the woman’s face is described as a small, crimson hand on her left cheek. The shape of the birthmark, a hand, also has a deeper meaning. “It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffably on all her productions” (Hawthorne 213). This helps us understand that the mark represents a handprint left by Nature. The way Nature is capitalized in this

The yellow wallpaper that the main character thinks has another woman trapped behind it represents her own struggles. The woman feels trapped in her marriage because her husband does not understand her illness. The wallpaper acts as a barrier that does not allow the imaginary, trapped woman to escape from behind it. The woman states in the text that “these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer and that satisfies him” (Gilman 309). John makes his wife sit alone and do nothing throughout the day and forbids her to write, which is what makes the woman feel better. Therefore, John is a barrier to his wife because he does not realize the extent of her illness and that he is only making it worse by making her be in the room all