When reading “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a reader cannot miss noticing the importance of the setting in which the action takes place. The author’s intent is to focus the reader’s attention into the story in a gradual manner; in this way, the unusual events presented later on will produce a greater impression on the reader. In addition, setting is a strategy for the author to introduce symbols in the text, symbols that are not obvious to decipher at the first read. As an

In order to hide the significance of the symbols in the text, and to step back into reality, the author is trying to keep a reasonable amount of elements from the real world in the story. A series of accurate medical observations is presented to the reader. Indeed, the natural treatment administered to Jane has effect, just as the doctor described. Her appetite comes back to normal, and she regained some of her color. John tells her: "You are gaining flesh and color, your appetite is better, I feel much easier about you" (159). The other characters seem to play such a minor role in the story that they can be considered part of the setting. In this case, they represent the connection with the real, palpable world. The healing process is only an appearance, because the body seems to heal, as the doctors predicted, but her mind is resonating with the environment in a different way, provoking changes in perception. Every strange event related to the mysterious appearances of the woman from the wallpaper seem to have a connection with the two-dimensional world she came from: the woman is "creeping as fast as a cloud shadow in a high wind"(162). Elements of two-dimensional worlds are indeed a rare and extremely appealing special effect in terms of the setting. They also symbolize the forced obedient attitude of those characters, since their movements were rapid and silent; the existence of only two dimensions instead of three implies weakness, lack of firmness. In the nineteenth century, women were expected to be retained, not to have a profession or work, not to have their own opinions. Carl Degler believes Gilman is speaking out in this manner. He alludes to this by saying, “Gilman reflected the intellectual outlook of her time in her undeviating commitment to progress… …History, progress, and nature itself, in Gilman’s mind, were emancipating women” (Degler 105). When it comes to conforming to these rules of the society, the character - Jane - feels oppressed. She sees all the other women that have to silently obey these rules: "I don’t like to look out of the windows even, there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast" (164). The woman in the pattern appears to be one of those creeping women, oppressed just like the narrator. The attempt to tie her up represents the will to bring all women to the common cause of liberation. The tone used in the end suggests that this attempt is really possible, despite of the weakness from which they suffer - weakness represented by the character Jane. The woman from the wallpaper says: "I’ve got out at last, in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!" (165). The ending leaves an open door to interpretations. The first one is the straightforward one: Jane has gone completely mad, her illness came to an advanced stage in which she can not distinguish imagination from reality. The other interpretation is a symbolic one: Jane and the woman in the wallpaper – the two are really one person - have won in their fight for independence; they have also succeeded to break the rules that kept them restrained.

It is amazing the way the author manipulates setting in order to suggest a dual interpretation of the story - the straightforward one, and the symbolic one. Setting proves to be essential in order to obtain the latter interpretation, because it contains elements with high symbolic load. Reformative ideas such as women’s fight for an independent life would have been too shocking for the readers of Gilman’s ti

Some topics in this essay:
Eugenia Delamotte, Weir Mitchell, Yellow Wallpaper”, Carl Degler, Jane I’ve, Carl Jung, Jane Considering, Perkins Gilman, yellow wallpaper”, Lee Weinstein, nineteenth century, elements setting, element setting, woman wallpaper, surrounding environment, , “the yellow, “the yellow wallpaper”, dull lurid orange, dull lurid, patriarchal society, strangely faded slow-turning, optic horror, jane woman wallpaper, waves optic horror,