Close Reading: The Yellow Wallpaper

"It is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore. It was a nursery first and then a playroom and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls ... I never saw a worse paper in my life."

Step One: Read for Comprehension 
The nameless narrator of the short story is describing the room that she is forced to stay in by her husband John, who happens to be a doctor, who says that she is experiencing temporary depression and that it is best for her to stay in this room by herself and away from others.  She first describes the room as being open with plenty of sunshine, and then she explains that it used to be a nursery and playroom.  She explains that because the room was once used only for children, the windows are barred and she describes the wallpaper as being some of the worst she has seen in her life.  She later describes the pattern as a "one of those sprawling flamboyant patterns that committing every artistic sin."

Step Two: Reread and Notice Things
The narrator is dealing with postpartum depression and I think it is really interesting that she is dealing with this while being secluded in a room that was once a nursery and playroom.  She later describes the room as an "atrocious nursery."  I think that the barred windows and her inability to communicate with people outside of this room represent more than just simply what they are.  I think that this room represents the narrator's inability to speak her mind about what she is dealing with because during this time postpartum depression was not something discussed and doctors did not understand how to treat it.  The room was once a nursery, which can also be representative of her husband, John, treating her like a child and controlling who she comes into contact with.  This controlling behavior can also explain the issue of status during this time.  John is a physician, as the narrator explains in the beginning, and he might be worried about what others may think of him if he has a "crazy wife."

Step Three: Explain Your Observations/Step Four: Formulate Some Conclusions & Develop Your Ideas
I think that my observations explain the confusion that the narrator was feeling and thinking during this time.  Because the author of this short story wrote it in the narrator's perspective, it allows the readers to get inside of her head and understand a bit more about what she is experiencing as she battles this postpartum depression.  I think that the chipping yellow wallpaper describes the narrator's mind slowly getting worse and worse.  The narrator is confined to this one room and the longer she watches the wallpaper, the more it becomes an obsession the worse her mind gets.

A Room of One's Own

Although I think that women are more valued and respected members of society today, I think that there are still many obstacles that women face in terms of educational and occupational opportunities.  We have definitely advanced and improved women's rights since the 1920s and early 1930s, but I think that men are still enjoying "more elaborate meals" in an environment where they are confident and comfortable with themselves.  Women are still attempting to prove their value and worth in male dominated occupations and work environments that leave them with the feeling of always needing to be more.  I am fortunate enough to attend Saint Mary's College, where women are empowered to express themselves and to excel in whichever field of study they choose.  SMC prepares young women to feel that confidence that many young women lack as they enter their career.  This education can help all of the SMC graduates to then apply this confidence in every aspect of their lives and use the knowledge they gained to help other women who may be struggling with finding their voice.   There is still relevance to how women are viewed in today's society and how they were viewed in A Room of One's Own.  This book enhances the importance of encouraging women to receive an education and to be proud and confident in the various opportunities that come their way, and I am fortunate enough to attend a college that does the same.  Although I am aware of this, I am also very aware that there are many young women who are not given the same opportunity to receive an education that encourages them to acknowledge their value and worth, both in education and in their occupation.  We have made many advances as far as gender equality since the 1920s and early 1930s, but there is still much more that can be made so that all women can feel that they, too, are enjoying all of the same "elaborate meals" that men are.

The Country

When asked where my favorite place is or what place has the most significance in my life my answer has always been "The Country."  You may be thinking or imagining "The Country" as a wide open space with cornfields and land that goes on for miles and miles lined by country roads with few cars driving on them.  This is all true, but "The Country" is also much more to me than that.  "The Country" is a name that my family calls my grandparents house.  They live in Walworth, Wisconsin, which is a small town that is surrounded by land, cornfields, and country roads, but it is also the home to my favorite place in the world.  As you drive down one country road you can see the back woods of my grandparents' property, and then you spot their driveway, which is long and their house is barely visible from the road.  "The Country" is a little white house perched at the top of a hill surrounded by beautiful flowers and extremely old and tall trees (or snow).  When you open the door you are greeted with two large screened-in porches that wrap around the front and the side of the house.  Those front porches are my favorite places to be, and they are where I find myself to be most peaceful and relaxed.  I can look out and see all of the trees and the distant cornfields that go on for miles and miles.  I think I love "The Country" so much because of all of the memories that I have there, and all of the memories that I will continue to create there.  It is a place that makes me quiet and still even in the chaos of everyday life.  It is also a place where I am surrounded by family, whether that may be during holidays or if it is just a random visit to see my grandparents. "The Country" is a place that inspires me and it has helped shape me into who I am today.