The Yellow Wallpaper

Summary

The Yellow Wallpaper is a psychological short story that explores the oppression of women and the consequences of denying mental health care. The narrator, a woman suffering from nervous depression, is taken by her husband John, a physician, to a secluded house where she is confined to a room and forbidden to write or engage in intellectual activity. As she spends more time alone, she becomes obsessed with the room’s disturbing yellow wallpaper, believing it hides a woman trapped behind its pattern. Gradually, her fixation intensifies, and she identifies herself with the imprisoned figure. By the end of the story, the narrator descends into complete madness, tearing down the wallpaper and declaring her freedom. The story powerfully criticizes patriarchal control, medical treatment of women, and the suppression of female creativity.