The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis

The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman illustrated the message of freedom and confinement and how these two opposing idea highlight gender differences in the 19th century. The structure of the short story helps create a better understanding not only on how the narrator is slowly beginning to deteriorate psychologically, but is also trying to fight for her freedom in an environment that restricts her say in her own life. The story is formulated to appears as horror, but in a broader message also describes the struggle for women to have control over their own lives and break out of the stereotypical wife and mother that society had created. In a number of lines in the story the narrator makes it clear how education was not a very significant goal for many of the women, for example when the author wrote “So I take phosphates or phosphites-whichever it is- and tonics, and journeys…” (154).
Even though it appeared that the author wanted to create that type of creepy and horrific tone, she also seemed to give messages that related back to women and how they were restricted. The ending of the story was very interesting because I was extremely shocked by what happened. I did not expect the narrator is say she was one of the women who apparently appeared behind the wallpaper. The moment the narrator said that I was very confused, but then realized that this sense of freedom is what had finally occurred. She is relieved that after so long of being trapped she is finally out and that she is never going to go back. It is interesting to see that even though the reader understands that the narrator is a female, the name of the narrator is never exposed. This further influences the notion that the narrator is speaking as the voice for women instead of just her individual