Have you ever experienced an event that seemed to go beyond the laws of nature? Has a particular location ever sparked an eerie feeling of uncertainty within you? In Charlotte Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a female narrator lives in a rundown colonial mansion with her husband. As the story progresses, signs of her loss of composure become evident and it becomes increasingly more difficult to explain the events that occur. By the end of the narrative, the narrator losses herself and tears apart the yellow wallpaper that had become her fixation. Within “The Yellow Wallpaper” there are various supernatural or gothic elements that are presented to the reader.
One aspect of the narrative that demonstrates supernatural elements is …show more content…
Since the narrator discusses her house in terms of it being haunted and rundown, it hints to readers that there are supernatural element that flow within. Such elements include the idea of ghosts and the dark eerie feelings that are often associated with rundown structures when compared to newer ones. In addition, the notion of a hereditary colonial estate forges the implication of a history that lies within the home’s walls. Often times the supernatural elements within a house are defined by events that previously occurred within and the mention of its hereditary nature implies that such events could have existed. The setting continues to demonstrate supernatural elements through the room with the yellow wallpaper. Despite the fact that the house itself is already teeming with supernatural elements, Gilman makes such elements more apparent by creating an even tighter supernatural environment for the speaker. As the narrator says, “I am sitting by the window now, up in this atrocious nursery… this paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had…then the floor is scratched …show more content…
The narrator first shows signs of mental instability through her abnormal interpretation of the wallpaper. As the narrator expresses to readers that, “the front pattern does move-and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are many great women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over” (12). In placing such extreme detail into the reader’s mind, the narrator begins to pull trust from the reader. Either the wallpaper itself is alive and the supernatural elements are directly recognizable, or the supernatural elements take the form of the narrator’s mental instability. Since the story itself takes place well before the 20th century, it is likely that the narrator’s aberrant psychological state was considered supernatural. In other words, the condition most likely exceeded the common scientific understanding of the times. During the story’s setting, scientific knowledge of the narrator’s mental condition would have been limited and the author may have expected a supernatural interpretation from the story. In addition, the narrator shows signs of the superstitious principle of demonic possession. As the narrator tells readers, “I tried to lift and push it until I was lame, and then I got so angry I bit off a little piece at one corner…And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you
One aspect of the narrative that demonstrates supernatural elements is …show more content…
Since the narrator discusses her house in terms of it being haunted and rundown, it hints to readers that there are supernatural element that flow within. Such elements include the idea of ghosts and the dark eerie feelings that are often associated with rundown structures when compared to newer ones. In addition, the notion of a hereditary colonial estate forges the implication of a history that lies within the home’s walls. Often times the supernatural elements within a house are defined by events that previously occurred within and the mention of its hereditary nature implies that such events could have existed. The setting continues to demonstrate supernatural elements through the room with the yellow wallpaper. Despite the fact that the house itself is already teeming with supernatural elements, Gilman makes such elements more apparent by creating an even tighter supernatural environment for the speaker. As the narrator says, “I am sitting by the window now, up in this atrocious nursery… this paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had…then the floor is scratched …show more content…
The narrator first shows signs of mental instability through her abnormal interpretation of the wallpaper. As the narrator expresses to readers that, “the front pattern does move-and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are many great women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over” (12). In placing such extreme detail into the reader’s mind, the narrator begins to pull trust from the reader. Either the wallpaper itself is alive and the supernatural elements are directly recognizable, or the supernatural elements take the form of the narrator’s mental instability. Since the story itself takes place well before the 20th century, it is likely that the narrator’s aberrant psychological state was considered supernatural. In other words, the condition most likely exceeded the common scientific understanding of the times. During the story’s setting, scientific knowledge of the narrator’s mental condition would have been limited and the author may have expected a supernatural interpretation from the story. In addition, the narrator shows signs of the superstitious principle of demonic possession. As the narrator tells readers, “I tried to lift and push it until I was lame, and then I got so angry I bit off a little piece at one corner…And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you