.
Since her brother and husband are both physicians of high standing, she is left with no choice but to follow through with their orders and subject herself to the suffering and torture of living alone in a desolate and gloomy room with yellow wallpaper. Everyday for three months, she continues to sit and stare endlessly at this hideous wallpaper until she finally begins to see a woman in it. On page 376 she states "I didn't realize for a long time what the thing was that showed behind, that dim sub-pattern, but now I am quite sure it is a woman." After continuously looking at this wallpaper for several weeks, she begins to become obsessed with the figure trapped inside the wall. Since she has nothing better to do, she devotes all her time trying to figure out the details of this mysterious woman. She does this most likely to save her own sanity. As more time passes, she eventually begins to ally herself with the woman. She often talks about how the lady creeps around outside. She states:.
I see her on that long road under the trees, creeping along, and when a carriage comes she hides under the blackberry vines. I don't blame her a bit. It must be very humiliating to be caught creeping by daylight! I always lock the door when I creep by daylight. I can't do it at night, for I know John would suspect something .
at once. (378).
This above quote shows how the narrator actually sees herself when she watches the woman. Just like the woman hides from carriages passing by, she hides from her husband. She says that when she creeps around during the day she has to lock the door, and at night time she doesn't creep around at all in fear that John will take away her one and only comfort she has at the estate.
After days and days of incessantly staring at the wallpaper , the woman becomes even more obsessed with the lady trapped inside the wall. She feels a deep and overwhelming urge to free her, yet at the same time doesn't want to let her go.