The Yellow Wallpaper

The wallpaper itself is clearly the most significant symbol of the oppression of women in the story. Throughout the story, Gilman often refers to what she sees as "bars" within the wallpaper. These bars can be representative of the literal bars of a cell, physical contraints that withhold individuals. I believe that the walls of the house itself are parallel to the walls and bars of a cell; these walls represent the constraints on women in their domestic spheres. That being said, the basic function of wallpaper is to cover up and decorate the walls of a house. Because these walls are the bare, ugly reality of oppression of women, they are "covered up" by wallpaper. This patterned wallpaper conceals the true foundation (the societal oppression of women), and instead reflects a more positive image. Essentially, this wallpaper represents the facade that is used in society to make it seem as if the domestication of women is a good thing, and is beneficial to them and the rest of society, rather than being oppressive and abusive. In addition, because wallpaper often covers all the walls of a house, it sets up and influences the overall atmosphere of a place.  This can therefore make it seem as if one cannot escape it; no matter where you go in the house, the wallpaper follows. This is symbolic of the inescapable oppression of women within a society. At the end of this story, the narrator "breaks free" from this mental prison she is held in when she rips off the wallpaper in the room in which she is confined. This ripping of the wallpaper is symbolic of the physical, literal, tearing down of the barriers in that she as a woman is being kept in by society. It can also be interpreted that sometimes monstrosity (her aggressiveness and frenzied ripping down of the wallpaper) is necessary in order to escape and free oneself from societal norms and societal constraints.