Faces On The Wall
In Charolette Perkins Gillman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" it is evident that good intentions do not always produce good results. I am making the assumption that because the time this story takes place is in an era in which such practices seen in this story were considered beneficial, that John's desire for his wife is for her to get well. Accordingly, he secludes her to a dreary room with only yellow wallpaper to look at that "is hideous enough, and unreliable enough, and infuriating enough, but the pattern is torturing." (209) Rather than help the narrator, the tactic used drives the woman to depression and insanity.
Though she would rather stay in the much more comfortable room downstairs,
"John would not hear of it." The room she is forced to stay in does not help her mental
health, but conversely, serves as an element of repression.
John_Deere_4630_Tractor.jpg
Microsoft Narrator
The "Japanese" narrator of My Japan.The bars on the window assist
in making her feel imprisoned. "The windows are barred for little children, and there are
rings and things in the walls." (203) The yellow wallpaper in the room is atrocious and
encourages negative creativity. Throughout the story, the wall serves as an enemy to the
narrator's wellness and constantly disturbs her. She tells of the pattern having no
organization to it, and annoyingly enough all she can do is stare at it. "It is dull enough
to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke
study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly
commit suicide." (203)
Though the narrator desires social stimulation, John's isolation approach causes
insanity. She is not allowed to see her baby or people on the outside world. This goes
against natural laws. Society provides a...