Different Possible Themes in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
There are a couple different themes in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by . Feminism is the main theme in the story. Something else that could be a theme is being confined to a certain area, excluded from the public, can drive one insane. Another possible theme is control. Jane is controlled in her every move. These themes are shown to be true throughout the story.
Feminism plays a huge role in this story. Back in the day women used to be looked upon as having no affect on society other than bearing children and keeping house. It was hard for women to express themselves in a world ran by males. The men had the jobs, the men had the knowledge, the men had everything that women didn’t. It is different in today’s time, but some of the old timers still believe the way they did back then.
Wallpaper is a feminine product, and it symbolizes female imprisonment in this story. At first Jane uses the wallpaper to work on expanding her literary imagination. After John shoots down her creativity and writing she reverses her initial feelings. She then feels like she is being watched by the paper, and it begins to eat away at her. After a while of trying to put a meaning to the wallpaper she sees the outline of a woman behind the bars on the paper like prison bars; it takes her a while but she figures out that the lady in the wall is her. She starts to feel trapped and begins to fall deeper into insanity. Jane relieves herself by ripping down the wallpaper. She is relieved because she feels that now she is free from confinement.
Another possible theme is being confined to a certain area for long periods of time can lead to insanity. The use of imagery and setting helps show this theme throughout the story. Jane suffers from some kind of nervous disorder which is made worse by the feeling of being trapped in a room. The setting of a nursery room with barred windows in a colonial mansion provides an image of the loneliness and seclusion experienced by Jane.
Another one of the major themes in this story is control. John controls every move Jane makes. He has some kind of mind control over her. He tells her what she can and can’t do. John has told her over and over again that she is sick. She lets him do this to her because she cannot tell him differently. He is a physician so he knows these things. She also has a brother who is a physician, and he says the same thing. In the story, she is like a child taking orders from a parent. Whatever these male doctors say must be true. Jane says, "personally, I disagree with their ideas", and it is clear she does not want to accept their theories but has no other choice.
John and the wallpaper are very similar throughout the story. At first they both control Jane mentally and then they both let go of the control at the end of the story. Most people think this story is just about a woman going insane, but as shown here there is a lot more to think about.
