In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, there are many unmistakable forms of imprisonment against which the unnamed narrator must struggle. Some of these forms are intangible, such as the patriarchal society of the time that restricts women’s freedom of movement and their creativity. Others, while less broad, are just as hard to overcome: the way she is treated by her caretakers, the home and the bedroom in which she is …showed first 75 words of 1269 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1269 total…slow descent of the narrator from mere depression into madness. On another level, it is the struggle of a woman fighting against all the forms of imprisonment imposed upon her. Though she tried to help herself, the only way the narrator could escape was into insanity. In the end she has been defeated, but defeat comes at her own hand. In this way, making this most important decision for herself, perhaps she has truly won.