Yellow Wallpaper HD: Theme Of The Yellow Wallpaper

Theme Of The Yellow Wallpaper
I define theme to my students as the main idea of a piece. There are many themes present in "The Yellow Wallpaper" depending on one's own interpretation of the work. Many find it to be a descent into madness and the causes behind this descent. I, however, believe it to be a woman's personal fight for freedom within the confines of a Victorian mentality. Women were not granted the right to intellectual pursuits. The narrator clearly separates her identity from her sister-in-law's by claiming that Jenny believes it is the writing that makes the narrator ill. The narrator, Jane, also pities Jenny for having no other aspirations other than that within the domestic sphere. She has clearly placed herself outside the traditional Victorian female role. One who aspires to intellectual activities is looked upon with suspicion. The wallpaper is a metaphor for society's limitations on women. She must break through and tear down this preconceived notion of women to become free. It is only through an escape from the wallpaper, society's expectations, that she can become the woman she wants to be. Theme is defined by the meaning you garner from a story. I feel the narrator longs for freedom and can only attain this goal through a process of disassociation with her former self. Freedom is gained when she tears down the confining role she has been placed in.

Theme Of The Yellow Wallpaper