Empathy In The Yellow Wallpaper

Character, plot, point of view, theme, conflict and setting. Without these story elements, a reader would never be able to invest themselves into a story. A reader would never be able to relate to the story and become attached. When certain story elements are more emphasized than others, it can evoke a sense of empathy in the reader of the story. “The best stories transport us into someone else’s life, if only for a moment. But we won’t go along for the ride unless we empathize with the characters. Empathy doesn’t just drive a good story, it is storytelling” (Baghdadi 1). Without the reader feeling empathy for a story they will fail to enjoy the story. The authors careful use of certain story elements can make a story very successful and
The main character never says exactly why she is on bed rest or exactly why her newborn child is being taken care of by her sister. The reader can infer from what the woman's husband says , that she has some form of depression. The reader is only seeing what the depressed woman is telling the reader through her journal entries. The woman constantly speaks of her boredom and how sever her boredom is. She has nothing to do but stare out the barred window and look at the yellow wallpaper all day. She writes in short, one sentence paragraphs. It seems as if this woman wrote sporadically, possibly taking days before she continues to write in the journal again. Throughout the story, one can infer that the women is possibly going through periods of being lucid and not lucid because of her random statements. “ But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing”( Gilman 3). She has anxiety which is making everything harder to deal with. The depressing room seems to be worsening her condition. “ i should hate myself if i had to live in this room long” (Gilman 3). The woman seems to be unaware that she will be staying in the room for a while. At first she must think that it is only a temporary thing. The first person narration of everything going on helps the reader to connect and empathise for the woman. The first person point of view in the story also allows the reader to fill in the gaps that the women does not speak of or vaguely
The woman behind the yellow wallpaper is symbolic of the woman writing the story. She seems to be trapped in the attic due to her husband's oppressive rule. The woman also describes the pattern on the wallpaper being linear, similar to bars on a cage. This can also symbolise the trapped feeling the woman is experiencing, as well as other women in oppressive marriages at the time this story takes place. "'I've got out at last,' said I, in spite of you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the wallpaper, so you can't put me back!' Now, why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the all, so that I had to creep over him every time!" (Gilman 15). Toward the end of the story, the woman has a mental breakdown. She tears down all the wallpaper and this is symbolic of her freeing herself from the dreadful wallpaper and the dreadful thoughts she experienced while it was up. She refers to her husband as “that man”. This is indicative of her having lost all mental stability. The sense of oppression and loss of stable mental health can lead the reader to empathise for the woman that was once not severe mentally unstable to now becoming severely