The Symbolism of "The Yellow Wallpaper"

The term "symbolism" means a system or set of symbols. In the story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," there are many times Gilman uses symbolism. Like when she was behind the barred windows. She felt like she was trapped from society. She couldn't get out and do everything she wanted to do, unlike some people at the time. In the beginning or the story, Jane quotes, "There were greenhouses, but they are all broken now" (1). In this excerpt, or line, from the story, Jane could be saying that there were good parts to her life, but they are all gone. She is saying that her life was just broken ever since she was limited to what she could do. And the wallpaper! She hated the wallpaper so much, but she knew there was something interesting, mysterious, about the paper. She noticed that there were stripes on the paper. And when we think of stripes, we think of jail or prison! The clothes they wear, or the room around them, they can see stripes. At the end of the story, though, she finds out that she is locked up. Not just from her family, but from the outside world too! Those were the uses of symbolism that Gilman used in the story.

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