The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" was such a change for me for many of the things we have read. We are focused inside the mind of one character again, but this time the character is crazy or at least is crazy by the end of the story. In the very beginning Jane describes her husband as a physician and says "perhaps this is one reason I do not get well faster" (487). I immediately became suspicious after John from this comment. It was foreshadowing for me because I realized this man was going to have strong control over Jane's life. Looking back at the story after finishing reading it this comment bothers me, however. If Jane realized in the beginning that John may have been the reason she never got better then why didn't she do anything about it? Throughout the remainder of the story she simply obeyed him and followed every rule and plan he laid out for her. Jane says, "I have a scheduled prescription for each hour in the day; he takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful not to value it more" (488). If you were describing someone who took care of you, one would normally say "he takes all care me" not "he takes all care from me." Again she is acknowledging her husband has all the power. He has taken even the power to care for herself away from her, but she feels as though she must be grateful to him for taking care of her. Later in the story Jane once again comments on John's love and care for her. She says, "he asked me all sorts of questions, too, and pretended to be very loving and kind" (495). He "pretended" to be loving and kind. So maybe Jane does not really think her husband is caring for her in the right way. If this is the case then why is she letting it happen? The only assumption I can make is Jane made a connection between herself and the woman in the wallpaper. Once the woman is the wallpaper was free then she would be free as well.