In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator leads into a discussion about her illness. She is suffering from “nervous depression” and dealing with her husband, who belittles her illness and her thoughts. Her husband John, whose also her doctor gives her a treatment that requires her to do nothing, no working or writing which she enjoys. She believes that staying active and having freedom would help with her condition, she begins to secretly write in a journal in order to express her feelings.
As the book goes on, the narrator continues to complain that her husband doesn’t listen to her worries and treats her like a child. She also suspects that there is something strange and mysterious about the house, but John says her concerns are just a “silly fantasy”. The couple moves into a room at the top of the house, with barred windows and a peeling yellow wallpaper. This yellow wallpaper becomes a major force in the story, as the narrator is convinced that the wallpaper contains something that threatens the whole house. The narrator describes her progress in uncovering the “secrets” of the pattern, as she is convinced that she is the woman who was trapped behind the wallpaper.
