Literary Devices In The Yellow Wallpaper

Am I crazy?
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s narrative entitled “The Yellow Wallpaper” portrays a nameless wife who gradually descends into psychosis due to a prescribed treatment of the time known as the “rest cure.” Gilman’s work is an excellent example of feminine oppression so prominent in the late nineteenth century. Women of the period were considered the weaker sex. They were at the will of their husbands who made decisions concerning all aspects of life including medical treatments, living arrangements and social activities. The intellectual stagnation and oppression of the narrator can be directly linked to her downward spiral into madness. The uses of literary elements in the story help demonstrate this theory.
One of the more prominent literary devices used by Gilman is symbolism. The major symbol of the piece is its title “The Yellow
She writes “ It is so hard to talk to John about my case, because he is wise and because he loves me so” (Gilman 663). Here we see how unapproachable she believes him to be. This could be because he is controlling or brash, however the narrator gives us the unlikely reason of loving her. The first person view also allows for better use of syntax. In the beginning the story flow together long eloquent sentences. As it progresses and the narrator begins to lose sight of reality and sanity the sentences become short and choppy. An example “How those children did tear about here! The bedstead fairly gnawed!” (Gilman 665). Everything she writes is frantic and exclaimed! This change in language also shows she is breaking free of her husband’s oppression. In the beginning under John’s control she would explain things to show John was nice and loving. In the end she just states things, as she sees them in her broken reality free from fear and