Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" suggests that the woman behind the wallpaper parallels the narrator's struggle with her expected role in a male dominated society, which is expressed in this passage. The narrator uses the wallpaper to represent the society she lives in. Not only does the wallpaper affect the narrator, but also it has an effect on everyone that comes in contact with it. .
The way the wallpaper is described in this passage shows how the narrator is using the wallpaper to represent her society. For example, the pattern of the wallpaper is said to be "a florid arabesque." Florid means to be gaudy or for show and an arabesque pattern is one that twists and winds. Like the pattern, society is also very complex and intertwined, and in order for many individuals to follow society's rules they must suppress their true desires and play their expected role to fit into society. For the narrator, this role is that of a woman in the nineteenth century. The narrator is expected to submit to her husband John's rules, do her house chores and have children and care for them. These rules, or expected guidelines, are set forth and enforced by the society the narrator is a part of. .
In this passage the narrator's attitude towards the wallpaper represents how she feels about the society she lives in. The pattern of the wallpaper reminds the narrator of fungus. Fungus is categorized as a decomposer or parasite. The narrator sees the society she lives in as parasitic. Most likely the narrators "sickness" is due to the way society's rules have broken down or decomposed her health. Also, fungus is considered to survive by a symbiotic existence, which means to live off of a host organism. The male's role in the narrator's society can be seen in this way. For the man to have a comfortable existence he depends on the women in his life to take care of his needs.
