Space - defined as “the distance from other people or things that a person needs in order to remain comfortable” - is a rudimentary concept invoked at various times in an individual’s life. Often it is regarded as a form of punishment, enforced through “timeouts” in the vestigial stages of childhood and through a rather gruelling process called “grounding” during adolescence. However, as the years progress, the concept of space is suddenly deemed as a positive, fundamental part of personal development, viewed less as a punishment and more as a reprieve from the hardships that life has to offer. In situations of difficulty, whether it be a relationship dilemma or a personal crisis, many people believe that giving an individual space serves
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Her husband, who is a physician, assumes that giving her space to rest is necessary for her to heal. Although his intentions are pure, the way he goes about it is erroneous. He places her in a nursery, keeps her under lock and key, and prohibits her from activities such as writing, daydreaming and socializing as doing so may trigger her “nervous [tendencies]”. With no stimulus of any kind and no outlet to vent her emotions, the unnamed protagonist becomes fixated on the “repellant” yellow wallpaper that lines the walls of the nursery that she occupies. The wallpaper, first described as “torn off in spots” but “sticking close [to the wall] like a brother”, is representative of the protagonist’s original state of mind. Initially, her sanity, like the remnants of the wallpaper sticking to the wall, is relatively intact, with the sections of the wallpaper “torn off in spots” representing the part of her psyche that has been rattled by her primary condition. As time passes on, it becomes apparent that the space that is allotted to her is harming her more than helping her as the unnamed protagonist falls more and more into delirium. In the end, the unnamed protagonist and the yellow wallpaper become synonymous, with both coming completely undone. The wallpaper is completely ripped down in shreds and
Her husband, who is a physician, assumes that giving her space to rest is necessary for her to heal. Although his intentions are pure, the way he goes about it is erroneous. He places her in a nursery, keeps her under lock and key, and prohibits her from activities such as writing, daydreaming and socializing as doing so may trigger her “nervous [tendencies]”. With no stimulus of any kind and no outlet to vent her emotions, the unnamed protagonist becomes fixated on the “repellant” yellow wallpaper that lines the walls of the nursery that she occupies. The wallpaper, first described as “torn off in spots” but “sticking close [to the wall] like a brother”, is representative of the protagonist’s original state of mind. Initially, her sanity, like the remnants of the wallpaper sticking to the wall, is relatively intact, with the sections of the wallpaper “torn off in spots” representing the part of her psyche that has been rattled by her primary condition. As time passes on, it becomes apparent that the space that is allotted to her is harming her more than helping her as the unnamed protagonist falls more and more into delirium. In the end, the unnamed protagonist and the yellow wallpaper become synonymous, with both coming completely undone. The wallpaper is completely ripped down in shreds and