Charlotte Gilman depicts the life of women in the time period of the late 1800s. The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” represents a much larger picture of life than the story itself. The narrator keeps a journal recording the abusive relationship she faces with her husband.  The countless occurrences of oppression afflicted by the narrator’s husband ultimately drive her crazy and cause her to kill him. The story depicts a time period of women’s oppression and outlines the timeline of women’s rights coming into the public eye. The narrator uses metaphors and various types of symbolism to depict the struggle women faced during the time of the mid to late 1800s. This paints a picture for what women faced and how difficult it was to bring the idea of women’s struggle into the light and out of normalcy. 

The yellow wallpaper in the story is symbolic to the overpowering jurisdiction men had over women. The narrator remarks the yellow wallpaper as “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in the 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…” (Gilman 305). Gilman is using the wallpaper to symbolize her vision of how women were treated by men. For instance, when Gilman states “pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study” (Gilman 305) she is referring to the fact that women are aware of the problem. However, women do not take action or question this abusive relationship. This is symbolized when Gilman states “when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide” (Gilman 305). Furthermore, Gilman symbolizes the fact that many women did not take action against men in the story several ways. In the beginning of the story the narrator does not think much of the wallpaper, however, as the story carries on she becomes increasingly curious. This represents the lengthy time it took to bring the issue of women mistreatment into the light. Gilman states “The paint and paper look as if a boys’ school had used it. It is stripped off—the paper—in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach” (Gilman 304). Gilman is referring to the paper as being torn and worn out. This provides a hint as to what the narrator is doing about her problem. She finally faces her man—with the man being the her husband represented by the paper. Later in the story the narrator states that the wallpaper laughed at her after she peeled off a large strip of the paper. Gilman is symbolizing how her husband reacted to her bringing the topic of women’s mistreatment into the light. She states “I had no intention of telling him it was because the wallpaper—he would make fun of me” (Gilman 309). The narrator is representing the idea that if she brought up the issue of her mistreatment then she would not be taken seriously because her relationship with her husband was considered normal. Gilman further relates to this point stating “She laughed and said she wouldn’t mind doing it herself, but I must not get tired. How she betrayed herself at that time” (Gilman 310). When Jennie is described as betraying herself, the narrator is referring to the fact that Jennie is ignoring the issue of her mistreatment and is literally betraying herself. Jennie discards that there is a real problem and therefore is accepting pain and struggle brought on by men. Gilman represents the relationship her and her husband have through this use of symbolism. 

Gilman uses metaphors in order to depict the oppression she and other women face. Although Gilman does not explicitly state the issues women face, she metaphorically outlines the issues. Gilman writes “It is the same women, I know, for she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight” (Gilman 308). The creeping woman Gilman describes is metaphorically relatable to women not being permitted to bring up the issue of their abuse by men. Gilman is reflecting the idea that neither she nor any other women would be taken seriously if they attempted to voice their problem. Near the end of the story Gilman states “I’ve got out at last” (Gilman 311). Gilman is referring to escaping the cruelty of her husband. Although the reader directly interprets she is escaping the issues the yellow wallpaper brings about, she is indirectly referring to the escaping of her husband’s abuse. There are countless metaphors that lie throughout the story. Gilman uses these metaphors to add to the effect of her intention. She hides deeper meanings behind the face value of words and phrases. The reader must interpret these meanings in order to understand the issues Gilman describes. 

The constant light change in the story depicts the issue of the narrator’s problem coming into and out of the light. The issue was only seen during certain times and under certain perspectives. As the light changes continuously in the story, the narrator is conveying the idea of her relationship only being seen as a problem sometimes because it is considered normal. The challenge of getting her husband to believe her was near impossible. Gilman writes “When the sun shoots in through the east window—I always watch for that first long, straight ray—it changes so quickly that I never can quite believe it” (Gilman 301). The relationship the narrator and her husband had always changed, hence the light changing so quickly. At different points throughout the story, the narrator views her relationship with her husband differently. The narrator tears down the wallpaper at night when there is no light. However, when it is daytime the wallpaper is seen and talked about. When the narrator thinks by herself (at night) she gets upset and understands there is a huge problem regarding her relationship with her husband. However, in the daytime she endures the struggle because there is nothing she can do about it. She experiences the problems, however, she has no choice but to go along with it.

Charlotte Gilman wrote the yellow wallpaper in order to expose the fight women were put up against. The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” represents a much larger picture than the simple plot it outlines. Gilman uses symbolism and metaphors in particular to convey the struggles herself and women face daily. The yellow wallpaper, the focus of the story, symbolically represents the unjust way men treat women. Throughout the story Gilman represents this treatment through analysis of the wallpaper and her interactions with the wallpaper. The wallpaper and story overall serve a much deeper meaning than the plot by itself. 
