The Yellow Wallpaper

by

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper: Ninth Entry Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
The narrator has made a discovery: the front pattern does move, because the mysterious figure of the woman shakes it by crawling around fast and shaking the bars formed by the shadows, trying to climb through. But the mysterious woman cannot escape the strangling pattern.
Here, the link between the mysterious figure and the narrator becomes clearer still. The narrator is similarly trapped, desperate to escape the grasp of her sickness but also the grasp of the society (and her husband who represents that traditional society) that has forced her into this room because of its views of women and mental illness.
Themes
Mental Illness and its Treatment Theme Icon
Gender Roles and Domestic Life Theme Icon
Outward Appearance vs. Inner Life Theme Icon
Quotes
Literary Devices