“The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story that encompasses many different topics. The narrator lives in a time when women were looked down upon and mental illness was misunderstood. The narrator of the story suffers from postpartum depression and is recording her journey in a journal. Her husband, the typical man of the time, put her on the "rest cure", as he believed that mental illnesses should be treated like physical illnesses. He takes her to a house away from other people and makes her stay in the children's bedroom. The nursery had worn yellow wallpaper that disgusted her, but intrigued her at the same time. The cure for the rest was basically confinement, both physical and mental. She was deprived of any form of creativity, including writing, which was one of the things that kept her sane. This “cure” ultimately leads to the decline of her mental stability as she becomes increasingly obsessed with wallpaper. Many literary devices were used to convey a story with so many themes. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses symbolism and characterization to explore themes about the lack of understanding of women and their mental health. The narrator of the story, although unnamed, represents a stereotypical woman with mental illness in that day and age. . “Many details, such as the lack of a name, cast doubt on his individuality” (Ford 1). The story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is told through a woman's diary and shows firsthand what the path to madness feels like. It is written in the first person to better expose the narrator's thoughts and feelings. ““The Yellow Wallpaper” is an example of first-person narrative because it is told exclusively from the point of view of...... middle of paper ......who suffers from mental illness creating an intriguing story that showed the injustices and lack of understanding present in the 19th century. Works Cited Ford, Karen. "'Yellow Wallpaper' and Women's Speech." Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Virtual Reference Library, 1985. Web. April 23, 2014. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The yellow background. New York: Bantom, 1989. Print.Lanser, Susan S. “Feminist Criticism, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and the Politics of Color in America.” Gale Virtual Reference Library. Np, 1989. Web. 23 April 2014. Quawas, Rula. "A New Female Journey into Madness: Decent and Return in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'." Gale. Np, 2010. Web. April 23, 2014. Wilson, Kathleen, ed. "The yellow background." Gale Virtual Reference Library. Np, 1997. Web. April 23, 2014. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The yellow background. New York: Bantom, 1989. Print