the wallpaper seems to function metaphorically. The wallpaper becomes much more detailed and much more of a fixture in the main characters life as the story progresses. The wallpaper essentially takes on a life of its own. This progression seems to represent mental illness itself. As mental illness progresses, it becomes much more whole and enveloping. Gilman attempts to represent the depth of mental illness through the wallpaper. For example, the woman in the story comes to the conclusion that there is a woman in the wallpaper behind the pattern. This is something that only can come from complete mental fixation. All in all, the story contains numerous elements of Gilman’s life.The time period in which this story was written also plays a role. In the late 1800s, feminism was not a popular view. The stereotypical views of women as homemakers and men as breadwinners prevailed over society in colonial America. For instance, the woman in the story was only prescribed rest for her illness, by her own husband. The husband felt that nothing was wrong with his wife at all. In addition, the idea of mental illness was not readily accepted at this time period, so they went undiagnosed. Both of these limitations affected Gilman in her life. As a whole, Gilman set out to express her feminist views and expose mental illness to the general public. Both of these goals were not considered socially acceptable at the time this story was written. However, that fact alone makes “The Yellow Wallpaper” such a significant piece of literature....
