"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a fascinating story. Within the first minute of reading, I knew I was in for a brain-teaser. Though the meaning of the story was still quite an enigma to me after finishing, I found it very rewarding to take the time to think about the plot and possible themes that could be present.
The narrator of the story is clearly insane, but is her insanity her own fault? Or was it the fault of the wallpaper? I believe the true reason for her insanity is the set of circumstances in which she found herself. First of all, she gave subtle hints that she suffered from chronic depression at the beginning of the story. I don't think this meant that she was bound to become insane, but it definitely was the primary cause. Her depression, along with her position as a housewife, caused her to be trapped in the rented home in which she was residing. This, along with the "help" and "advice" given by her physician husband, caused her to become socially isolated. Her husband did not even allow her to write, forcing her to secretly write her journal, limited by entrances from her husband and maid.
The wallpaper was interesting in the first place, but as the narrator continued to examine and try to figure it out, it slowly consumed her mind and imagination. Soon, she began to hallucinate and see things that were not really there. Her social isolation and lack of ability to creatively express herself gave her the idea that the real world was not real, and that her imagination was the truth.
The message that I got out of the story is that nobody should be isolated, especially without a creative outlet. If one has no real life, their imagination can become powerful enough to create a world that is not real.
