The Yellow Wallpaper

6-27-11 English 201-17

" The Yellow Wallpaper "

1.) John had a few good points; he works very hard, he loves his wife, and he speaks

very kind and gentle to her. He is "careful and loving" as well. (Gilman 298). John

had more bad points, in my opinion than good. John isolates his wife from society and

discourages her from writing. He constantly reminds her of her condition by telling her to

not exhaust herself in any way and to rest. Perhaps his worst point is that being a

physician he should have known to no treat her post-pardum depression with long term

use of phosphates. Phosphates when used long term, lead to high calcium levels in the

blood. This leads to fatigue, sleep disturbances, and eventually delerium. It is possible

that this was not a known fact in 1891 due to the lack of medical knowledge. The above

mentioned bad points are why I believe he is mainly responsible for his wife's

condition. I do not agree with John discouraging her from writing. This was a mental

outlet for her to discuss her feelings. Writing was one of the only things she enjoyed.

2.) Initially the author described her bedroom to be in complete disarray, with particular

attention to the yellow, peeling wallpaper and it's perplexing patterns. She is obsessed

with deciphering the meaning of the design. She states " It dwells in my mind so".

(Gilman301). She eventually comes to like the wallpaper. It gives her a focus for her

thoughts. She begins to look forward to studying it while resting and starts eating

and feeling better. The color is described as "dull, repellant", "old, and foul". (Gilman

298,304). The color closely relates to the mood of the story because the author is

so depressed and negative. The author views the wallpaper pattern as bars that

entrap many women trying to escape. This ideation represents the author's sense

of