Symbolism and Women's Oppression in The Yellow Wallpaper

In the 19th century, women had to accept their situation because they lived in a world dominated by men. In the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a woman named Jane is suffering from postpartum depression. John, the husband of Jane is a doctor. In order to cure her illness, he tells Jane that they will go to a summer house. Once they arrive in the summer house, he orders her to stay in bed. At the beginning of the story, Jane was not sick as her husband said, all she had was postpartum depression. She was in a big house away from the others, unable to see or care for her child, in a room with ugly walls, windows with railings, without doing anything and alone, that led her to madness. Jane began to observe all objects in the room, specifically the yellow wallpaper. The yellow wallpaper symbolizes the way women were perceived in the 19th century by society. The illness of the narrator explains the problems of imprisonment, captivity and the lack of freedom that the women were going through in the period of the time. The yellow wallpaper acts as a metaphor of how Jane and the

Men in the 19th century had the power to decide where the women could go and what they could think. Men always does what they want, but women cannot. Men in the 19th century make decisions based on what they think is best for women, and not based on what women really wants. The yellow wallpaper represent how women felt in the period of the time. The illness that Jane have explain imprisonment, captivity and the lack of freedom that the women were going through in the 19th century. The yellow wallpaper acts as a metaphor of how Jane and the women of the 19th century were treated and how they feel. If I were a woman of the 19th century locked in a room doing nothing, and following the instructions of a man, I think I would kill myself. What would you