"The Yellow Wallpaper"

I believe that this short story's meaning deals with the imprisonment and role of women in marriage. All throughout the story we see symbols that point to this conclusion. First off is the setting in which the narrator is surrounded by, which is simply a room. The fact that the room is secluded upstairs has barred windows, a bed that is nailed to the floor, exercise hooks on the wall, a ghostly image that appears through the wallpaper, and a gate separating her from downstairs represents a gloomy atmoshphere. These could all be symbols of an imprisoned cage or type of jail cell that the narrator is living in. This can be related to a woman's role in a marriage and the imprisonment that is felt by some when they get married, perhaps how the narrator felt in her marriage. She alludes to the fact that John is a physician and very smart and he takes care of everything and also directs her in certain matters. For example, she says " he is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction." So we can see how she feels intimidated by his stature and his way of ordering her even though it is done with love.

She wants out of the hold that he has on her and I can see this whenever she talks about outside and how lovely it is. She views outside as freedom and wants to be apart of that, not of the terrible jail cell she is currently in. She looks out into the "world" and sees how beautiful everything is just as a woman may look out from her marriage and see how desirable everything around her is, but she can't do anything but sit and watch, just as the narrator sits and watches through the window.

The yellow wallpaper symbolizes the idea of marriage and how it traps women into confusion whenever they try and figure it out. This pattern dominates the wallpaper, just as some marriages dominate the women, and we see this everytime the narrator expresses her confusion when trying to figure it out. Also, the narrator towards the end of the story notices a woman trapped behind the wallpaper. This is the point whenever the narrator feels she has to get out. She writes about the girl, " she is trying to climb through, but nobody could climb through [the] pattern--- it strangles so." Finally at the end she breaks through and comes to the conclusion that if she destroys it, it can be defeated. She remarks to her husband, " I've got out at last, in spite you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" This last exclamation simply is the narrating realizing that to end this imprisonment, she is going to have to end the marriage.