Charlotte Gilman’s novel uses its setting to demonstrate the restrictions put on the main heroine. It is a symbol of the position of women during the Victorian era.
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Charlotte Gilman’s novel is a mix of Gothic horror and feminism. The main heroine is recovering from depression and is under the husband’s control.
The mansion where the couple lives is a remote area. The windows of the heroine’s room are barred, which makes it look like a prison. The heroine is not allowed to work, write, and dream because of her illness. The husband limits her so that she would get better. He shows the typical Victorian social attitude towards women to readers. The house, her room, the wallpaper – all take the role of only happiness in the heroine’s life.
The things that are around her become the most involving part of her daily life. Later it transforms it into an obsession. This process is described in the article by Sabina Dosani. People who surround the heroine seem less real than the garden around the house or the wallpaper. The only thing she does is looking at the lines of the wallpaper. The patriarchy of husband and brother adds to the woman’s loneliness. Stereotypical women characters of the story don’t support her in this struggle.
To a reader, the yellow wallpaper seems like an antagonist, considering the novel’s gothic nature. It captures the heroine’s interest, and when the woman behind the wallpaper’s lines shows herself, the symbol is clear. Wallpaper and its many lines mirror the character’s mental captivity. Only when she tears it down – she is free. The gothic feeling of secrecy and stubbornness goes with the image of a free woman. The contrast between the character and the setting she lives in plays a big role in the plot. It creates a story about the effects of suppression and patriarchal presence.