Yellow Wallpaper Madness

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The Madness Behind “The Yellow Wallpaper” The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman expresses madness at a whole new level. Gilman uses the narrator’s madness as an intimate portal for readers to dive into. Gilman also portrays such madness in a very real and raw sense, which left many readers uncomfortable. In much earlier times, mental illness was not a subject that was common. Therefore, doctors and physicians were quick to enforce rest upon anyone who spoke of such matter. The narrator’s continual unheard fuss is what drove her insane. She is stripped of all creativity, quickly allowing her to feel useless. The narrator’s overwhelming desire to express herself and be free came to a halt as she spirals into complete insanity. Rest is thrown upon the narrator in every way, shape, and form. She aches at the thought of keeping her mind shut. Gilman uses this as a constant struggle in the narrator’s mind. Confined to one single room, lying in bed for hours at a time, and wandering in one’s own thoughts is enough to start a single itch of madness. Even her very own journal has to be used with much caution. The journal is the one thing keeping whatever sanity …show more content…

It is the one thing she detests at first sight, but slowly and surely grows fond of it. Gilman even writes, "I'm getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper. Perhaps because of the wallpaper” (384). The illness she thought she had clutched in her fist, escapes at the seams. Spending hour after hour staring at the walls allows her to feel connected to the wallpaper. A connection she has not had in a very long time. Gilman allows the narrator to become one with the wallpaper, to feel a sense of belonging. She also allows the narrator to disassociate herself, giving a visual of how she really feels on the inside. Gilman portrays what being trapped and confined can dangerously lead

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