Narration In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

The first person narration in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” allows the reader to gain an understanding of the main character through her dialogue, actions, and thoughts. Throughout the story, the narrator thoroughly describes the setting, which changes in her mind, over the course of her stay in the rental house. This change in the narrator's perception of the house and the world outside of her bedroom can allow readers to understand her feelings of isolation, depression, and resentment towards the wallpaper. Through the narrator’s description of the setting, the reader can understand how limited knowledge on depression led to the main character being conflicted about her treatment, how over time her opinion on the wallpaper shifted, and how her …show more content…
On their last day at the rental house the narrator no longer wants to go outside, but instead would rather stay inside where everything is yellow rather than green. The narrator has completely changed her initial ideas about getting out of the room with the yellow wallpaper. She suddenly does not want to leave and this could be due to the lack of social interaction she had throughout her stay. Without social interaction, she lost her sense of self and no longer wanted the things she did before. The last line that the narrator says is “I’ve got out at last . . . And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” (167), she at this point has completely warped her sense of self and reflected it into the woman she imagined in the wallpaper. At the end of the story, the narrator has integrated herself into the setting, she has become a part of what she explained the wallpaper to be. She took on a role that was played by her imagination for the days leading up to her departure, and in time as her surroundings became all she