Chaos In The Yellow Wallpaper

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In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman we have an opportunity to see what was happening in the character’s subconscious and how the wallpaper highlights the chaos within the main character. In the beginning the wallpaper is not liked but merely an annoyance, by the end the narrators interactions with the wallpaper are a symbol of what is going on in her mind. The house is described as an older home, that looks as if it could be haunted and the couple, she describes as ordinary. By the end of the story the couple shows clear subconscious problems, the wallpaper that could be described as gaudy and yellow is a clear symbol of the chaos happening within the narrator. Gilman begins with the way that the couple disagrees. …show more content…

She attempts to look better, for the sake of her husband, her conscious mind wants to be better to get out of that place. Her unconscious mind is beginning to connect the wallpaper with a mental trap. In the middle of the story the journal entry shows how the narrator sees herself like the house. Outside looks calm and beautiful inside there is chaos like the wallpaper in the dreaded room. Her thoughts are becoming more chaotic just like the wallpaper. There is no challenge in her live she is just supposed to rest and heal, but she spends the time contemplating the wallpaper. Looking at it day in and day out is unconsciously getting into her thoughts and bringing the chaos out into her consciousness. The narrator is confused because she believes that her husband loves her, but, he is controlling her in ways that she believes not to be helpful. She wants to do more with her life and thinks that the activity will help her feel better. There is a big discrepancy between what John believes and what the narrator believes. He wants her to rest, she wants to be active. He says it is all because he loves her but, she is not listened to and wants to make changes. . She is trying to follow the rules and be the person that her husband, John wants her to be. She consciously sees that she seems to give into the id more and more. The narrator wants her superego to be dominate so her actions don’t show her internal chaos. because she does not want to go to a doctor. The couple are still at odds when she admits to feeling worse and John insist she is doing better and belittles her. The doctor named in the text, Weir Mitchel, is a doctor that Gilman was treated by in real life. She has stated that she wanted to change the way he practiced medicine (Placeholder1). The story shows the chaos in the narrator’s

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