“It’s the color of happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and spring.”, (Color Matters).

Writers often use the color yellow as a way to describe light and positivity; it is the color of the sun and sunflowers, butterflies and daffodils and is generally surrounded with happiness. In The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, however, the author creates her own feelings around the color and instead uses yellow to represent the themes of sadness and decay that are reiterated throughout the story. The tint is first used to describe the color of the wallpaper, but the paper’s distasteful and worn- down appearance serves as deeper reflection into the main character’s depressed state of mind. This further becomes apparent throughout the story as the author continuously chooses to focus on the ugly items that are yellow rather than its many beautiful attributes. Lastly, yellow describes the menacing smell of the wallpaper. The initial odor does not bother the woman, but as time progresses it spoils and becomes more present and infuriating. Gilman’s use of the faded and revolting yellow throughout the story gives it the depth to represent the unpleasant and deteriorating life of the woman. It is used to describe items associated with unhappiness as well as those that have lost their vibrancy over time and have become old and unlikeable.

The first comparison between the rotting yellow and the woman is seen when she describes the unsightly color of the wall. Yellow typically represents joyfulness, however, in the story the color is described as “repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow- turning sunlight” (301). The now somber tint of the wall mirrors the doleful psyche of the protagonist and her diminished positive outlook on life. Just as the yellow was once warm and untarnished, so was the woman; yet, overtime both she and the wall have fallen victim to the irreverence and neglect that surrounds them and have ultimately caused them to lose their liveliness and succumb to a dreary life of despair.

It is not just the wall, however, that is associated with this ugly yellow; the author links the color with general negativity and pessimism throughout the duration of the story. Once while observing the new shades of yellow on the fungus, all she could think of was the wallpaper, which then prompted her to reflect on all of the yellow things she has ever seen, except “not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things” (308). It is not difficult to imagine a bright or spirited yellow item; often, the color has a positive connotation and is used to represent emotions such as optimism and content. Yet, the focus on dismal examples of it manifests the deep connection between yellow and sadness.  

Finally, the author makes an unusual description when she depicts the ghastly smell of the wall as yellow. When she first moved in the woman did not notice the scent, but as time passed and the smell continued to fester, the “only thing [she could] think of that it is like is the color of the paper! A yellow smell.” (308). The progressive hostility towards the smell and the comparison to a color rather than a more common scent illustrates both the deteriorating and somber undercurrent the color symbolizes. 

Throughout the short story it is obvious that yellow is used as a way to perpetuate the feeling of sorrow in and around the protagonist. The author repeatedly portrays this feeling through the beaten down and faded look of the wallpaper that reflects the character’s pessimistic outlook on life as well as the decaying happiness she experiences everyday. She further enforces this comparison by only mentioning yellow items that are ugly and unpleasant, or those that have been demeaned over time. The author makes no reference of pleasurable yellow things that could give the color a more positive connotation. Lastly, the color is used to reflect the moldering smell of the wallpaper that she continues to develop feelings of animosity towards. The once unnoticeable smell soon became unbearable and the only term she could think to label it as was yellow. During the story yellow describes anything that is not good or has changed over time in a negative way. This unfavorable aura formed by the author is continuously used as a way to create and portray the negative atmospheres surrounding different items, characters, and settings. 