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Character Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper

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Character Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper is a diary written by unnamed narrator who is going through depression. She gets to move for summer due to a ‘rest cure’ according to her husband, John,described as a practical man by the narrator. She thinks that something is weird and strange about that house, but John thinks it’s just her fantasy and wants her to obey his cure. She stays in a room that she hasn’t picked up and forbidden from every exercising except ‘rest’. The narrator becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper and experiences bizarre situation. she follows the pattern of the wall paper everyday and finds out that there is a woman behind the wall.
As the story goes on, what the narrator describes about the wallpaper and woman makes readers doubt
…show more content…
She says ‘I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. Im sure I never used to be so sensitive. I think it is due to this nervous condition.(13)’ which indicates she is not mentally stable that she gets angry at John without any reason. Also, she knows it’s because of her nervous condition. Readers can tell that she is unreliable because she says that illness is making her worse and she is not who she used to be. The quote, ’I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing.(14)’ also shows her recognition of her status. But later …show more content…
In the beginning of the book, she describes John as a person who tries hard to take care of her and wants her to be healthy again, saying ‘ He is very careful and loving,...(12)’ and ‘Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick(21).’ But at the end of the story, she says “He asked me all sorts of questions, too, and pretended to be very loving and kind. As if I couldn’t see through him!(32)” which kind of sounds like she thinks he is annoying. Also, for the wallpaper and her room, she describes it as ‘I don’t like our room a bit.(12)’ and ‘the color is repellent, almost revolting,...(13)’ in the beginning. She even asks John to change her room. But as the story goes on, she says ‘I’m getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper. Perhaps because of the wallpaper’ and gets into the wallpaper too much that ends up locking herself in. Opinion of Jennie, John’s sister, also changes. The first description of her in the book is ‘There comes John’s sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me!(17)’ and later this description changes into ‘Jennie wanted to sleep with me-sly thing!(32)’ This kind of mind changing makes reader confused and doubt about its

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