Reflecting upon their role in society, women in literature are often portrayed in a position Especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed andcontrolled by their husbands as well as other male influences. "The Yellow Wallpaper", writtenby Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story of a woman, her psychological difficulties and herhusband's so called therapeutic treatment of her aliments during the late 1800s. The story beginswith a young woman and her husband travelling to the country for the summer and for thehealing powers of being away from writing which just seems to worsen her condition. Uponreading this intense description of an almost prison-like prescription for overcoming “temporarynervous depression” the reader is filled with the idea the men are nothing more than thesupervisor in the lives of women. In the story the protagonist is oppressed and represents theeffect of the oppression of women in society. This effect is created by the use of complexsymbols such as the house, the window, and the wallpaper which facilitate her oppression aswell as her self expression. Usually we find the symbol of the house as representing a secureplace for a woman's transformation and her release of self expression. However, in this story, thehouse is not her own and she does not want to be in it. She declares it is “haunted,”and that“there is something queer about it.” Although she acknowledges the beauty of the house andespecially what surrounds it, she constantly goes back to her feeling that “there is somethingstrange about the house”. Her impression is like a premonition for the transformation that takesplace in herself while she is there. In this way the house still is the cocoon for hertransformation. It does not take the form of the traditional symbol of security for the domesticactivities of a woman, but it does allow for and contain her change. The house also facilitates ...
