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Motifs
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
First Entry
Explanation and Analysis:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” takes place in a sprawling country estate toward the end of the 19th century. Both the time and the physical location play an important role in developing the narrator, Jane’s, repression, isolation, and captivity as a woman suffering from postpartum depression. While discussing her illness and treatment, Jane mentions her lack of input:
And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression [...] My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing [...] Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?
In 19th-century America, people’s attitudes toward women were generally different than today. Typical of the time, John refuses to take his wife seriously and offers a treatment without consulting her. He ignores her wishes and treats her like a child. For instance, Jane wants to work and socialize, but her husband prescribes a cure that forces her into isolation. Furthermore, Jane clearly disagrees with John’s medical opinion and emphasizes her helplessness. However, there is little she can do—at the time, it was socially unacceptable for women to openly challenge men. Adhering to the norms of her time, Jane plays the obedient wife and submits to her husband.
Whereas the story’s temporal setting explains the narrator’s lack of agency, the physical setting echoes Jane’s mental and emotional decline. As part of his medical treatment, John rents a large country house, and Jane notes how secluded it is from other homes:
The most beautiful place! It is quite alone standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people.
Though the house looks pleasant, it is confining and isolated from society, which Jane emphasizes in her description of “hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses.” In this sense, Jane’s home restricts contact with the outside world and makes it impossible for her to seek companionship or escape. Just like the house itself, Jane is stuck and alone, which gradually untethers her from reality.
Moreover, the inside of the house amplifies Jane’s isolation and lack of agency. Jane’s bedroom is spacious and “airy,” but it is extremely restrictive. For example, the room has many windows, but they are all barred shut. Jane can look outside, but she cannot interact with the world, relegating her to a mere observer. Additionally, the room’s décor is inhospitable. From the “revolting” yellow paint to the horrendous wallpaper, the room is uncomfortable and triggers Jane’s anxiety. In this way, Jan’e surroundings imprison and oppress her. Unable to escape her time period or location, Jane ultimately internalizes her setting and is driven insane because of it.
Related Themes:
