In “The Cottagette,” the second and third paragraphs identify the setting of the story, “”Cottagette, by all means,” said Lois, seating herself on a porch chair. “But it is larger than it looks, Mr. Mathews. How do you like it, Malda?” I was delighted with it. More than delighted. Here this tiny shell of fresh unpainted wood peeped out from under the trees, the only house in sight except the distant white specks on far off farms, and the little wandering village in the river-threaded valley. It sat right on the turf, –no road, no path even, and the dark woods shadowed the back windows.”
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the second and third paragraphs identify the setting. “A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house and reach the height of romantic felicity – but that would be asking too much of fate. Still I will proudly declare there is something queer about it.”
In both stores, we have a house as the settings, but two very different houses. In “The Cottagette,” the narrator clearly is fond of the cottage. I feel that she admires its isolation, while in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator senses that there is something wrong about the house. The narrators set the tone for the setting in these passages which help shape the stories differently. The cottage is described as a delightful place, and so was the story, ending with the narrator getting a marriage proposal from the man that she loved. The colonial mansion was described, by the narrator, as a haunted house. This story was not as delightful as “The Cottagette.” In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator drivers herself insane from the obsession she had with the wallpaper, where she thought she saw a woman who was trapped behind bars and tries to escape.
I believe the narrator’s claim that there was a woman trapped behind the wallpaper is an indication of the way she felt about her life. She was trapped in that room with the awful yellow wallpaper. Her controlling husband did not allow her write, although writing was something she liked to do. Allowing her to write would have given her a sense of purpose. This would help her to overcome her depression. She also did not have any input in any decision that was made. Even though she insisted they should pick another room John did not listen. Whenever she spoke up about her feelings John’s response always sounded patronizing. Using words of endearment to address his wife in a patronizing way only added to the feelings of hopelessness that she was feeling. As the weeks went by and she remained in the room with the yellow wallpaper her depression got worst. It seems as if near the end if the story she wanted to send John a message. On page 68 she says, “..and I don’t want anybody to come in, till John comes.” “I want to astonish him.” This was after she ripped off the wallpaper. In my mind I can visualize her ripping off the wallpaper in a mad rage. She probably thought John needed to be astonish because she blamed him for ignoring her needs.