The Yellow Wallpaper
Women?s Literature
The Importance of Symbolism and Imagery In ?The Yellow Wallpaper?
Often times the best work of writing, be it a short story or an extensive novel, is one that examines an issue using a variety of literary techniques, such as symbolism and imagery. Charlotte Perkins Gilman did just that. ?The Yellow Wallpaper? is a short story in which a woman, who suffers from some sort of nervous condition, is basically confined to one room in a summer home while on any number of medications. Her husband doesn?t allow her to work and even forbids her from writing, which was a deprivation of the only outlet she truly had. Gilman uses various forms of symbolism and imagery throughout the novel that, as in most cases, can be interpreted in a variety of forms.
One of the most significant examples of imagery and/or symbolism in ?The Yellow Wallpaper? is actually the yellow wallpaper. It surrounds, in somewhat of an encompassing manner, the room occupied by Jane, the main character and narrator. Jane says at the beginning of the story ?I never saw worse paper in my life. One of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every
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