Question

Which statement is a theme of "The Yellow Wallpaper"?

Answer 1

B. Keeping one's mind active is good for mental health.

Answer 2

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman examines gender role's oppressive nature which was imposed on women in the late 19th century. Due to the inability to insert one's identity, the narrator is driven mad and thus strives for self-expression.

A statement which is a theme of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is B.    Keeping one's mind active is good for mental health.

The theme of self-expression is important to keep one's mind active. More than physical constraints, mental constraints are the one which drives the narrator insane. To protect her facade of marriage she is forced to hide her fears and anxieties. "Resting cure" aspect creates inactivity and silence which is intolerable. Such treatment only forced her to be passive and refused from any kind of mental exercise. Her imaginative power is repressed which ultimately is the cause of her insanity. On the other hand, for emotional and intellectual outlet she constantly longs for it. According to Gilman self-destruction is caused to the state of forced inactivity.