At first glance, we see the story as a woman married to a doctor and living in a colonial mansion which really doesn’t seem like the worst life to live. But the story also begins by talking about her health and how the male physicians in her life- particularly her husband- laugh at her and pass off her unwellness as “temporary nervous depression.” From the first page, it is already obvious that the woman struggles with her mental health. But then we discover that she is a prisoner of not only her own mental health, but also neglect from her husband/physician, and ultimately a room lined with horrifying yellow wallpaper in which she finds patterns and women trapped. While her husband belittles her mental health, she is clearly aware that he is wrong. (And when your wife is on a mental break, it definitely won’t drive her further into madness if you trap her in a room alone. What a good idea, that should definitely heal her). We find out that she recently gave birth which signals postpartum depression to modern health knowledge and standards.
Her descriptions of the wallpaper in the room she is confined to are bleak and dreadful (“repellent”, “revolting”, “unclean”). I found this pretty spooky but I was super intrigued to keep reading. Her claiming that the wallpaper is the worst color she’s ever seen, I think, signals her extreme discontent with her current situation, and the references to suicide support this idea. When she says “I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one” in the wallpaper, I’m not sure whether or not she is scared of them, envies them, or sympathizes with/for them.
I had never read this before and I actually really enjoyed it. But this story wasn’t “just entertainment,” as Dr. Bezio points out that nothing is ever “just entertainment” in the podcast. I got into thinking what this story symbolizes or seeks to teach us. Definitely the need to take mental illness seriously, but I also think it had to do a lot with gender roles, female oppression, and feminism. After listening to the podcast, I was glad I interpreted part of it correctly.
I really enjoyed your analysis of the reading. I agree with you that symbolism is on full display throughout the reading, I too felt uneasy when reading this story and quickly understood that the wallpaper is much more than just decoration. I think that symbols bring out emotions as we see in her description of the wallpaper. Symbolism also allows for a variety of interpretations.
I really enjoyed your description and analysis of the wallpaper itself, and I think that the color that the author chose has significance as well. Yellow is seen as a happy color, but the women on the paper are trapped and miserable. I think that this mimics the feeling of the main character, who appears happy at first glance but is actually severely depressed.
I really enjoyed your analysis of the reading! For the quote “I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one” in the wallpaper, what I thought this meant (which could be completley wrong) is that she knows that other women have felt the way she does and have gone through similar trauma/pain and she sympathizes with them. However, I think she is also saying that sometimes she feels there is “only one”, talking about herself, and saying that she not only feel lonely, but feels like she is the only one in this situation and does not know how to get out of it.
I like the point you make that reading this story goes beyond it just being for entertainment; instead, with the entertaining aspects, it also carries a strong message in its highlighting of the struggles women face, and the continued ignorance of these struggles in our society. I think it is critical to remember as we read other stories and watch movies that we continue to use this frame of mind that nothing is “just entertainment”, and instead work to find the messages in the piece of work, whether it be hidden in the words used, the actions that take place, or un any other aspect.