
Oppression could very well be the cause of many tribulations.  More significantly the oppression of men on women in the 19th century.  This time period was filled with constant belittling, unequal gender relationships.  In the 19th century, women were more of a property of men than an individual.  The aged rationale that women have no decision making ability is prevalent in the 19th century, and even more so in Charlotte Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper.  Gilman illustrates the struggles of a woman shackled by her oppressive husband, and the society surrounding her.  The narrator in the story is married to a therapist named John, who throughout the story claims to help her with his convenient diagnosis of nervous depression.  While his intentions may be in good sentiment, he leads her down a path of inevitable implosion.  This is all too familiar in the time period in which this story takes place, the helpless nature of women in the hands of controlling and possessive men. A quote from research of this time period sheds light on the situation of women: "Physicians believed that if a woman became too scholarly, her uterus would become dysfunctional, possibly leading to madness" (Radek).  With this as evidence to how skewed reality was in 19th century, it becomes easier to understand the trials the narrator must endure in Gilman's story.  The imprisoned narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper is a depiction of the narrator's treatment from her husband, while also mirroring the polar opposite roles of men and women in the 19th century.  

The nineteenth century consisted of a widening gap of gender equality, this spawned somewhat from the industrial revolution.  The main differentiation began mostly in the upper and middle classes. Men and women held contrasting roles in society, where men held decision making roles, and women settled into household duties.  This gap only heightened the belief that women were not suitable for life without a dictating monitor.  In the story, her husband John expresses his love, but at the same moment imposing his will on her.  "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction ... " (Gilman 210).  This quote from the narrator is a prime example of how helpless she is in regards to her identity as a person in the story.  The lack of independence is not much a choice, only strengthening the argument that women lacked any sort of autonomy in this time period.  Independence is a vital part of one's health, and the narrator is void of any version of this.  

"I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes.  I'm sure I never used to be so sensitive.  I think it is due to this nervous condition." (Gilman 209).    Throughout The Yellow Wallpaper the audience is subjected to the belief that the narrator is shackled by John, having to hide her writing and anything that may bring her excitement.  John forbids the narrator to exercise her mind until the 'sickness' has run its course and she is again well.   In the story the audience can understand John's use of the 'resting cure', the treatment created by S. Weir Mitchell.  The resting cure consists of exactly what it sounds like, resting.  In further detail, it consists of the dropping all forms of activity and replacing them with leisure.  This practice is what eventually leads to the narrator's demise.   

The heart of Gilman's story is the wallpaper, at first seemingly an unpleasant eyesore, to an amalgamation of both the narrators subconscious and the viewpoint of most women in this time period.  The prison our narrator envisions inside the wallpaper entombs a woman behind the bars of oppressive men.  Beginning we see an unknown woman 'creeping' in the wallpaper, desperately trying to escape.  The narrator slowly becomes hysterical about what she has now deciphered, constantly pondering what each pattern may mean on the wall.  The wallpaper she is so infatuated with symbolizes 19th century society.  The bars in the wallpaper represent the strong hold that men have on women in this period.  This is the boundary that many women cannot break through.  The window in the room, shining on certain parts of the wallpaper represents the attention of men.   " ... The woman behind shakes it!  Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one ...  Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard." (Gilman 218).  When reading this passage, the audience can see that this is a reflection of the narrator's actions.  Throughout the day when she is alone, she creeps around the room almost in freedom, able to think freely and write as she wants.  When John comes home, she must remain silent and calm, not to cause suspicion.  This passage also shows how women are afraid of men, having to put on a mask of good deeds when they are present.  Oppression, again is the word that comes to mind.  

 "I've got out at last ...  in spite of you and Jane.  And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" (Gilman 221).  This concluding quote from the story is the most powerful.  The narrator has finally revealed to John how serious her obsession has become.  John abruptly faints after opening the door to find his wife crawling around the floor of the nursery in a hysterical frenzy.  The bars inside the mind of the narrator are what she sees as her marriage and her relationship with John, while the freedom outside of those bars consisted of independence from John and the ability to write as she pleases.  

