History has always been about inequality and injustice. Many authors in different eras have had great works of writing to critique and condemn societies that mistreated people in a systematic way, including writers of the nineteenth century. In the horror short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman makes clever use of imagery and the symbolic portrayal of the rope, as a means to depict Jane’s gradual decline of her psychological state and the physical and mental confinement she is pushed into, ultimately exposes the oppressive society of the Victorian era and its everlasting impacts on women at the time.

To begin, Gilman descriptively portrays the image of Jane tearing down the wallpaper and her use of the rope with the intention to highlight the narrator’s delusion, while also hinting at societal oppression. When the narrator was alone in her bedroom, she “peeled off all the paper” while “all those strangled heads and bulbous eyes and waddling fungus growths [were] just shriek[ing] with derision” (Lines 25-29). The detailed storytelling at this portion emphasizes the psychological decline of Jane as she is unable to comprehend the patterns on the wallpaper; instead, she views them as weird faces laughing over her suffering for the entire time she is in the room. The use of vivid imagery reveals women’s anxiety at the time about the feeling of always being watched and monitored, which creates more mental impacts for them. Gilman continues to utilize imagery, as seen in how Jane creeps in the room. Jane does not want to go outside anymore, for “everything is green instead of yellow” (Line 52); meanwhile, in the room, “[she] can creep smoothly on the floor, and [her] shoulder just fits in that long smooch around the wall, so [she] cannot lose [her] way” (Lines 53-55). A normal adult would not creep around the room like a toddler, but Jane does, and it is the demonstration of how her mental state was worsened to an unrecoverable level. The room has trapped Jane physically, and the patterns have trapped her mentally, against her own will. This image of Jane creeping inside, not outside, her room also sends a stronger message about how women at the time were deprived of the ability to go outside and make decisions. Society had forced women to always listen to their husbands, to their men; slowly and slowly, women were no longer themselves. Gilman’s use of imagery effectively exposes the impacts society had on a woman’s identity and autonomy, taking away her ability of making judgement and neglecting her mental health. 

At the same time, Gilman makes use of symbolism, depicting the rope as a representation of the narrator’s lapse of behavioral control, and a timeless message about the shackle of convention. Before Jane locks her inside the room, “[she has] got a rope up [there] that even Jennie did not find. If that woman does get out, and tries to get away, [Jane] can tie her” (Lines 16-18). Such delusion of fighting against the wicked, creepy being only emphasizes the mental confinement imposed on her, as she is unable to have a clear thought about whether or not there is actually a “woman,” or if it is just the hallucination after being trapped with the patterns for too long. The symbol of the wallpaper highlights the psychological impact society has on a woman’s mind. At the same time, the rope also reveals the oppression of society and how it dictates behaviors of men. After learning that Jane “[is] securely fastened now by [her] well-hidden rope” (Lines 42-43), John–the husband–immediately “cr[ies] for an axe” (Line 59) to break the door. At first, this might represent the husband’s unconditional love for his wife and how he wants to save her at all cost, but deep inside there is a more disturbing reality: men were afraid to lose his woman only because they viewed them as an asset. Throughout the story, Jane was always asking to move to a different room, asking to be treated differently, only to be “assured” by John, while in reality he was just ignoring his wife’s needs. Only when the rope comes in, only when it seems like Jane is about to take away her own life, only then John becomes panicked. The rope does not represent strength, or love. It represents the confinement of women, mentally and physically; it represents women’s will to escape from her miserable fate; it represents the ignorance of the men and the horrible oppressive nature of that era.

All in all, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an excellent piece of literature from Charlotte Perkins Gilman that not just serves as a great horror story, but also a timeless accusation of society’s violations against women, and a warning for the future generations about the importance of mental well-being, identity, and autonomy. In the light of today’s social and political debates regarding women’s control over their own body, it is crucial to understand how throughout history, women have always been mistreated, and how they have been fighting for their freedom. Understanding this would be essential for the progress of humanity overall.