I read the “Yellow Wallpaper” at some point in high school, but the first time I read it I honestly didn’t know what was going on. Reading it again definitely helped me understand it better and read between the lines to see the symbolism in the story. Also, after listening to the author’s background in the podcast, as well as the historical time period, I think it helped the meaning of the story make more sense. Women ran the household and did what men asked them to do. I think a woman trapped in the room could be symbolizing women trapped in the household or trapped in an unhealthy marriage with the burdens of taking care of the children and the house and not getting any support. Her husband barely paying attention to her or never truly checking in on her health, could symbolize a husband working full time and never being home to help with the family or house or even wanting to help when he is home. We still see these struggles within domestic roles in the household today. I also appreciate how she used her own struggles with mental health and her “rest” order from the doctor to influence her writing “The Yellow Wallpaper”. It is sad that it’s based on a true story, but I am glad that her story was able to make a difference and have doctors not prescribe the “rest” cure again.
Critical Thinking
I like your point about how domestic roles were highlighted in the Yellow Wall Paper. They are definitely still influential today over how society views women and career and women and family. I also agree that it is sad that this was a true story. Mental health was not talked about and not considered a problem and the rest cure only helped in making matters worse. Today, there are fortunately a lot of people working to destigmatize mental health, which is important since it is the biggest barrier to individuals wanting to seeking help.
I also was super confused at first reading it, but after closely examining and really trying to understand it, the same points you made came to me. The different symbols you pulled out also were very cool in that I can see how you interpreted it in a similar but also a different way than I did.
I think symbolism is really interesting in the current day. We would always learn about it in English class when analyzing texts. However, symbolism is starting to play a role in our everyday lives within the pop culture we entertain ourselves with. I think the symbolism you recognized in the text is important to evaluate as it pertains to many themes in modern day.
Like you, I also read this story in high school, but I understand the significance and symbolism much bette now. Symbolizing the woman trapped in the wallpaper as a representation for women being trapped in their domestic roles is very interesting. with no other path available to women, the domestic route of wife and mother was the only option, making women feel trapped in their life and overall society.