Sick or Manipulated?

 But who is she? Is it her? Double personality? Is she going crazy?

    Today, in class we talked about this short story named The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The story is about this woman that was told was sick by her husband and put in this room upstairs of a rented house. The husband says she has to stay there because it is healthier for her and she needs to get better. The husband's sister, Jennie, is helping them with the house, cleaning, making food, and basically being the perfect housewife. The husband has work and is always gone away. They are living in this rented house for a few months before they go back to their normal house. Jane, the sick woman, was told not to write, not to do anything because it is bad for her. She decides to write anyway hidden from the other two living there. And the short story is her diary. Jane keeps staring at the wallpaper, which is in fact yellow and notices patterns. The more she stares at it at different times of the day, she notices that those patterns move. She also caught her husband and Jennie staring at the wallpaper which makes her question what she sees. 

    I think the first thing that kind of makes the reader ask questions is when Jennie mentions the yellow wallpaper fading on Jane's dress. This is definitely kind of weird in a way because that is something paint would be more suspect of doing. Later, Jane says in her diary, she sees a woman in that wallpaper, the same lady she sees outside looking at her. She says that the lady moves in the wallpaper and that is what makes the pattern move throughout the day. Then, you get to the end of the story it gets kind of confusing while staying open to imagination and different points of view. Jane starts ripping all the wallpaper off the walls and while her husband is trying to get into the room it's like the lady in the wallpaper gets out and is now in possession of Jane. It's like that lady is now the one talking to the husband saying "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!"

    This is where it gets very interesting and our conversation in the class went a few different ways. I personally think the lady in the wallpaper is the side of Jane that her husband never let out. I think it's her real personality that she would've always loved to show but was always forced to hide. I definitely don't think there is any sort of magic in this writing. I am sure the lady in the wallpaper is an analogy or some sort of metaphor for another thing. 

    That lady that she sees staring at her from the outside I think is her seeing herself where she wants to be. I think is her imagining herself outside living a normal life just like everyone else, enjoying some fresh air and looking at landscapes. I think staying in that room for so long played with her mind and maybe twisted her into seeing things or creating things in her mind. Maybe to escape the life she is living at the moment.

    I think that was a very good writing and very interesting. It is fascinating to see how the artist was able to play with the complexity of the mind while keeping the story simple to follow but also making the readers think and question what they read. I would definitely recommend this reading to friends and family.