The biggest red flag in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman is the wallpaper and how it makes the narrator feel, but the topic of children is often overlooked. The little hints runs around hidden beneath the words of the story. The symbolism is easy to miss, since children are seldom mentioned, but it does not mean that children are not important to the story.

It’s easy to overlook the fact that the narrator has a child. The existence of the child is only mentioned in three small sentences: “It is fortunate that Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous“ (Perkins-Gilman 301-302). The child is not mentioned for the rest of the story. Many might argue that the existence of the child is not important. This instance is similar to how mystery novelists write their books. They will mention something that seems ordinary, let’s say a letter laying on the table, and it will become significant later in the story or have an underlying meaning. The object wouldn’t be mentioned if it wasn’t relevant to the story, just how the child is relevant. The narrator mentions that she cannot see her child. It is strange for a mother not to bond with their child. Rather, Mary is bonding with, and taking care of, the child. Mothers need one-on-one time to build the relationship between them. These women who don’t spend time with their child are seen as the one who gave birth to the child, rather than the conventional mother. The lack of bonding between her and her child is seen as one of many reasons why the narrator seems trapped. Not looking at the outrageous things she did with the wallpaper, the narrator could have post-partum depression. She has a hard time falling asleep because of the yellow wallpaper, she has food brought to her on a schedule, but has difficulty eating, she will not get over the wallpaper, and she doesn’t even see her child. Due to the symptoms it is easy to believe that the narrator has post-partum depression from having a child. Taking the child away from the narrator is causing her to be ill.

The narrator’s husband often treats his wife like a child. She is his patient, but being a patient and being a child can be contrasted. There are certain actions John takes which is more like a father than a husband. “And dear John gathered me up in his arms, and just carried me upstairs and laid me on the bed, and sat by me and read to me till it tired my head” (Perkins-Gilman 305). Often children get read a bed story, but rarely adults or patients. It can be assumed that she can read since she writes these entries, so it is strange that he reads to her instead. John also calls his wife “little girl.” The name isn’t exactly close to “honey” or “my love.” It is as if he sees her as a little girl, rather than a woman he married. The narrator asks for things frequently, but John always pushes them aside and doesn’t let her have her way, just like a child. 

The room with the yellow wallpaper was a nursery that became a playroom and gymnasium. The narrator describes the room as having windows that are barred for children with rings and things on the wall. She also mentions that the wallpaper is torn from the children who occupied the room previously. The bed is nailed down to the floor so she cannot move it. It is as if the narrator is actually a child. She doesn’t seem like a grown woman. She has servants that prepare her food and bring it to her, she is not allowed to leave the property, and her husband tells her what to do or what not to do. She has a child, but she doesn’t see him or have any responsibility toward him.  She doesn’t complain or want the childish attention to stop, except for when she asks to see company. She feels trapped but she doesn’t take any actions to stop the behavior. 

After evaluating the treatment and characteristics of the narrator, the symbol of children runs throughout. She lives in a nursery, she gets treated like a child, and is not allowed to bond with her own child. These cases can lead to someone going crazy and feeling trapped like the narrator did. The wallpaper was just an addition to the madness that was going on inside. 