The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

Despite their growing desire for freedom, John’s wife and Ottaline’s identification with inanimate objects highlights the severity of their mental isolation, which occurs due to their lack of trust and ability to confide in their respective societies. Initially, John’s wife’s gravitation towards the yellow wallpaper has no impact on her relationship with her husband, but as the conditions of her suppression increases, she begins to develop a negative conscience for those in her social environment. When John’s sister, Jennie, commented about the excess yellow paint that has stained her shirt, John’s wife grows internally defensive of the wallpaper, as she interprets the comment as a threat to her connection with the wallpaper. In addition, she

John’s wife and Ottaline are forced to suffer from social suppression by their male counterparts due to their position as defiant women in a misogynistic society. As a result of their oppression, the female characters eventually gravitate towards inanimate objects in hope of acquiring a social identity. By identifying with the yellow wallpaper and the tractor respectively, John’s wife and Ottaline are finally able to gain temporary closure. Their gravitation towards inanimate object ultimately highlights the grueling state of their isolation due to lack of trust in their respective societies. Ironically, their suppression and isolation entices their desire for social emancipation, to which both women attain to a certain extent. Typically, female characters are portrayed as weak and inferior to their male counterparts as they lack an active voice in society due to social suppression and physical isolation. Only a few female characters were able to convert their isolation into a stimulus for social emancipation, but despite doing so, their closure was only