The Yellow Wallpaper

This was a great short story I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The story had plenty of substance as well as symbolism. This story felt predictable to me. I do not know why because I have never read it before but by the time I was a third of the way in I had guessed the ending. However, despite that I really enjoyed reading this. This story progressed really well. The more patterns she found in the wallpaper the deeper she slipped into the grips of madness. The wallpaper was not only the cause for her madness but also a symbol for it. She noticed new things about the paper every day and night. She also says several times how frustrating the inconsistensies of the pattern are further showing the progression of her madness. The point at which the reader finally becomes aware that there is a serious problem is when she starts staying up all night looking at the wall paper and seeing the woman behind the pattern. I think John knew that she had a mental problem from the beginning. I say this because throughout the story he always encourages her not to "fill her head with fancies". This suggests that he is trying to preserve her ever shrinking capacity for rational thought. I think John realized that she had some form of neurosis fairly early on even before he brought his wife here. In fact I think his wife's neurosis was his reason for coming to this old mansion(or possibly mental hospital). I think he wanted a safe place for her to either heal or succumb to her madness. The reader is almost left to infer the ending of the story but not quite. There is enough evidence to suggest that she probably hung herself and that it was her spirit that creeped along the edge of the room and over the body of John.