is free to “creep around as I please” (Gilman270). At this point in the story the narrator has lost her sanity, and is living in the wallpaper-world she is imagining. Ironically, the wallpaper that she hates at the beginning of the story finally becomes the perimeter of her existence. The “bar” like pattern serves to keep her in when she fears going outside, but also confines her when she wants to “creep” around the bedroom. The narrators secures her perceived freedom when she successfully removes the wallpaper from most of the room and says, “I’ve got out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jennie. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” (Gilman 271).The correlation in this story between the narrator and the wallpaper is that as the narrator loses her sanity and intellectual connection to her world she becomes more conscious of, and connected to, the wallpaper. The focus of her surroundings is narrowed to the point that she exists only in the bedroom, fearing the outdoors and limiting her contact with other people. The wallpaper provides the foundation for her fantasy world and represents breaking away from the confinement of her prescribed treatment and the loss of her sanity. The narrator is unable to fulfill her intellectual needs, whether it is by writing, interacting with friends and family, or experiencing changes in her prescribed daily routine. The wallpaper develops details and animation as the story progresses and symbolizes the confinement, struggle and acceptance of one woman’s struggle with debilitating depression....
