The Narrator's Insanity In 'The Yellow Wallpaper'

Quawas’ article claims that in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator’s descent into madness is actually her descent into becoming what is defined as the New Woman. The New Woman demands an individuality and freedom to pursue her own path in life, rather than submitting to the repression of the Victorian “pure woman”. Quawas points out that in Victorian society, writing was considered an act of independence and rebellion for women. Through the narrator’s writing, the birth of her sense of self becomes clear where the use of “I” increases dramatically towards the end of the narrative. Quawas argues that the narrator’s insanity is not a “breakdown”, but a “breakthrough”. Therefore, Gilman’s narrator has achieved a more advanced state of mind that