Question

How does the narrator’s description of the wallpaper change over time? How is the wallpaper representative of the domestic sphere?
The story is The Yellow Wallpaper

Answer 1

The narrator becomes obsessed with the color and design of the wallpaper. It reminds her of all the yellow things she has seen in her life, and she even distinguishes its smell.

As the story continues, the narrator imagines there are women crawling inside a cage (trying to escape) in the design of the wall. She also believes that she is one of those women. Finally, she refuses to leave the room, since it is the only room of the house in which she feels safe.

As regards the domestic sphere, the wallpaper represents the lack of life outside marriage and children that women had at the time. The narrator's vision of women encaged on the wall symbolizes women who were trapped in the family system, and who were wrongly diagnosed with mental issues.