Women have come incredibly far from the oppressed society of the late nineteenth century. During this time, women were looked at as weak, unequal in the social hierarchy, and not as mentally able as men. They were treated as such, often times being mocked by men, including their husbands. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” tells the story of a woman who has been diagnosed by her husband, who is a doctor, as having some kind of illness. It takes place in a time when women were not seen as equal by men or society. In 1892, when the story was written, women in the United States did not even have the right to vote yet. The way the woman’s husband reacts to her and dismisses the idea that she may have her own wishes exemplifies the way women were treated during this time. The story also portrays the way the woman seems to be utterly unfazed and unbothered with the way she is treated throughout the story, showing that women had never experienced better treatment, and thus didn’t expect anything more from the men in their lives. The unnamed woman in the story is showed to be very controlled by her husband and the other men in her life. The syntax and symbolism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” help readers to better understand the unjust treatment of women that occurred during this time period because they show the woman’s firsthand experience of oppression that leads to her eventual demise.

Syntax is used throughout the story to depict a woman who being talked down to by the men in her life, specifically her husband. This type of syntax begins with her own thoughts from her doctor’s advice saying “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do?” (Gilman 300). This shows how even though the woman feels ill, she is looked at as if she is crazy and her opinion is not taken into consideration as her husband overpowers her. This also shows the high respect that John has for being a physician, so much so that this fact is revealed before it is even said that he is the woman’s husband (Ford 310). The woman describes her husband, John, in a way that portrays the power play he has in their relationship, which is somewhat expected by her. The woman explains that “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” showing how she expects to be looked down upon by her husband. This shows that women of this era did not see anything wrong with the unequal treatment they received in their own marriages (Gilman 299). Furthermore, John tells the woman she is “absolutely forbidden to “work” until she is well again” (Gilman 300). This shows how women during this time period were looked at as weak and not capable of making their own decisions without the help of a man. John also “rarely lets me stir without special direction” portraying how men held an incredibly firm grip on the lives of the women around them and thought they needed step by step directions to be okay (Gilman 300). Additionally, syntax is used in the story to show the demise of the woman’s mental health. At the beginning of the text, the woman narrates using long, expressive sentences, but by the end she is. At the start, the woman thoroughly describes the wallpaper as “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide - plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions” (Gilman 300). By the end of the text, the woman’s narration becomes increasingly erratic and short minded as she describes the wallpaper as “sticks horribly and the pattern just enjoys it!” (Gilman 303). Almost every sentence at the end is short worded and punctuated with an exclamation point, showing that the way her husband’s controlling attitude eventually led to her insanity. The syntax helps readers to get a more overall view of the woman’s daily experience with oppression from her husband.

Surprisingly, the woman doesn’t seem to notice the oppressive way she is treated whatsoever. The woman states in the story that “I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already!” (Gilman 301), portraying that she expects from herself to be only a helper to her husband, and nothing of true substance. The woman believes this to be her responsibility because she has never been told otherwise. During this time period, women were looked at as the “home maker” and rarely held jobs other than maid or full time “housewife” (Oakley 33). This led women to believe that they were only cut out for this kind of work, and could not amount to anything more, explaining the woman’s easygoing attitude towards the oppressive way her husband and other males treat her. The woman mentions wanting to see relatives, but this idea is quickly shut down by her husband saying “He would as soon put fireworks in my pillowcase as to let me have those stimulating people about now” (Gilman 302). This is an instance where the woman’s opinion and wishes are shot down because it is not believed to be what is best for her by her male counterparts. During this time, this is the way things would be handled by husbands because they were thought to be the only one who knew what was best for their wives. It was almost as if they owned their wives and decided where they would be and when. This type of behavior was common for a long time in society, until much later than just the early nineteenth century. In fact, by the evidence found in Gilman’s story, it’s obvious that this mentality was nowhere near it’s end during this time period and wouldn’t be fully stopped until much later. 

Gilman’s depiction of the yellow wallpaper throughout the text symbolizes the woman’s need to get away from the oppressive hands of her husband. The woman calls the wallpaper “repellant, almost revolting” and “a smoldering unclean yellow” at the beginning of the text (Gilman 299). The diction used here makes readers feel a disgust for the room and its wallpaper. The narrator begins to see a woman behind the wallpaper saying “the faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out” (Gilman #). This figure behind the paper can be seen as a metaphor of the woman, trying to escape the pattern of her husband and his control over her life. The narrator becomes increasingly obsessed with the wallpaper and the woman she apparently sees behind it, staying up the entire night “to watch developments” of the figure (Gilman 303). The woman eventually decides to take the wallpaper off because she can see the figure “shake the pattern” every night (Gilman 303). The morning after, the woman has successfully taken down a “strip about as high as my head and half around the room”, partially freeing the woman behind it (Gilman 303). That day the woman locks herself in the room and continues to tear down the wallpaper. When John asks her to open the door and let him in the room, the woman responds with “I’ve got out at last, in spite of you” and “I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” (Gilman 303). This shows readers that the narrator identified as the woman behind the wallpaper in many ways. The figure was stuck behind the walls pattern, just as the woman is stuck behind the oppressive “pattern” of her husband controlling her. It’s hard for the wallpaper to come off the wall, just as it is difficult to change the equality of men and women during this time period. The wallpaper stands as a symbol for the woman’s fight against the oppressive reality of women. 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story opened up a new conversation about the rights, or lack thereof, that women had during this time period. Gilman was one of the first women to publish a piece so blatantly against the so called “norms” people had come to associate women with. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an accurate depiction of the life of a woman in the early nineteenth century, and is Gilman’s way of beginning the fight against the oppression of women. Gilman had many thoughts about the way women were treated during this time period, as she had been in a depressive state herself, so she knew firsthand the experience of being told what to do and what to say. This pushed her to writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” and allowed her to write her experiences through the character in the story. Her way of writing the dialogue throughout the story where it depicts the man as being more intelligent than the woman is not coincidentally done. This was done very deliberately to show readers more about the historical context of this time period. After reading Gilman’s story I am more intrigued to collect information about this time period and to learn about the struggles that women faced throughout it. This is exactly what Gilman wanted, for people to notice things from her writing and to take action. The dialogue in this story shows how the early nineteenth century woman was treated, and shows how far we have had to come through the past decade to get the respect we have now.
