be seen in the fact that her husband believes that she is recovering, when in actuality she is getting worse. She is going insane from her furtive attempts and failures to attain peace with this wallpaper. This is evident in statements that she makes such as: "There are always new shoots on the fungus, and new shades of yellow all over it; There is something else about that paper - the smell! It creeps all over the house. I find it hovering in the dining room, sulking in the parlor, hiding in the hall, lying in wait for me on the stairs." (Gilman 666) She has become absolutely obsessed with the paper! Why would anyone in their right mind be so concerned about a piece of wallpaper?It is obvious at this point that the narrator is losing her mind, courtesy of her fascination with the wallpaper in her bedroom. Her senses are being constantly crowded with thoughts of the wallpaper and she is subconsciously trying to free herself from it. This eventually leads to her seeing bars in the pattern of the wallpaper and further towards schizophrenia coupled with a nervous breakdown. As this breakdown is nearing, she starts tearing the wallpaper off of the wall and locks her husband out: "I have locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path. I don't want to go out, and I don't want to have anybody come in, till John comes." (Gilman 668) What is this all about? She has a rope with her and she is continually tearing paper off of the wall. All the while she is mumbling about "creeping women." (Gilman 668) She says: "I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?" (Gilman 668) Maybe that is why she has rope. Maybe she is going to hang herself from the bars in the window once she frees herself from the wallpaper. Soon John comes home and finds the door locked. He begs her to open it and she tells him "The key is down by the front door under a plantain leaf!" (Gilman 669) When he comes back and opens the door, he se...
