The Yellow wallpaper summary

The story begins with the narrator telling us about how she has rented a mansion for a vacation with her lover, John. She finds it strange they were able to get it at all! Moreover, she can’t believe the cheap price. She goes on to tell us that she is sick.

Yet, her husband John is a physician and he can't find any sickness. He believes that she's suffering from a temporary depression and slight hysteria.

She’s a little frustrated since none of her family believe her over John’s medical expertise. Plus, her brother gives the same diagnosis as John. She’s forbidden from working or reading, which she thinks would actually help her by taking her mind off of it. Oh well she figures, since she’s in sucha beautiful mansion! The gardens are unbelievable. Like out of an English fairytale.

She’s taking constant medication to treat her condition. She wanted to stay on the ground floor with roses outside, but that was impossible. Instead, they’re living in the nursery at the top of the mansion. Inside the room is a dull yellow wallpaper that has faded and torn. John is a working doctor and goes out during the day to tend to his patients.

They also have a maid and a child. Jane, the narrator, stresses that she can’tbe with her baby. At first John said that he would re-paper the wallpaper. Thinking about what hard work it would be,he changed his mind. He tells Jane to ignore it. Jane can’t even go see her cousin Henry and Julia because John thinks that her mind is so frazzled that it couldn’t take it.

Then Jane gets a little creeped out. She starts explaining that she sees a woman in the pattern of the yellow wallpaper. Their lease is up in 3 weeks, so John doesn’twant to leave early. The wallpaper continues to creep Jane out. Jane is completely transfixed on the wallpaper. She notes that the wallpaper changes as the light changes. Jane appears to be getting more and more paranoid.

She says that she is trusting John less and less. Also, she saw John as well as Jeannie looking at the paper one time. John makes Jane lay down for an hour after each meal. Yet, she never actually falls asleep. She tells John that she did. Which she figures is quite a bad habit sinceshe’s lying. They have a week left and Jane is completely devolving mentally.

This is in contrast to her improving physical condition. She doesn’t trust John anymore and is convinced to discover what is in the wallpaper. She finds the smell of the wallpaper revolting. And she finds that smell wherever she goes.

Finally, she is convinced that the wallpaper is in fact moving. She believes that the woman behind the wallpaper is the one doing it. She is getting less and less trusting of John. Even him asking questions to the maid has Jane angry.

Jane thinks that John is pretending to beloving and kind. She thinks that the yellow wallpaper is affecting the others minds. Its their last day at this house and Jane Has started ripping the wallpaper off. She tells the maid that she’s going to lay down, but only so that she’s left alone.

She locks the door and throws the key down into the front path. Towards the end she wonders out loud whether that creepy woman had “come out of the wall-paper as I did”.

When she has ripped off all the wallpaper, the woman from the yellow wallpaper is released. John comes home, gets the key, and goes into the room. The woman inside is no longer Jane, but the woman from the wallpaper. She states that she’s finally gotten out and she'll never be put back in.