The Narrator's Relationship In The Wallpaper

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The relationship of the narrator and her husband, John, is one that of the time period. The narrator has no other choice but to be obedient to her husband and the things he asked of her, though that isn’t much at the time, due to the recent birth of a child and the “mental state” of the narrator. Though the house seems to intrigue her to an extent, John has her in a room she doesn’t really like and has her isolated for most everything and everyone. He treats the narrator as though she is a child and dismisses her thoughts and ideas, even of her own health and what may help her get better. He “hardly lets me stir without special direction” (Gilman).
The social definition of women at the time was one of staying at home, no voice in voting …show more content…

She begins to find an appreciation for the room, it’s as though she becomes able to relate to the room, as she discovers a figure within the wallpaper. The figure, which becomes to look more like a woman, is trapped and is constantly looking for a way out, sometimes; she thinks it has more than one head. Similar, to our narrator, who is trying to convince everyone around her what she needs or what might help her get better. The narrator does not want anyone to help the figure out of the wallpaper and only wants herself to figure it out. She becomes possessive of the figure in the wall, most likely because she can relate to the figure. She is trapped in this room and has to hide behind the directions and orders of her husband. “ All species survive by adapting to a particular, and unique, life strategy” ( Scott). Our narrator learns to live life under the influences of her husband and others and learns to help herself by adapting to the situation. This is her freedom from everything; the one thing she can control is her mind and her actions. By tearing down the wallpaper in the story, she is starting to let herself find a way to survive even though she is under the control of others and how society as a whole thinks things should be

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