The first mention of inferiority in the story is the general idea that John supposedly cares for her, but not in the right way. The protagonist allowed herself to be inferior to her husband, while he isolated her from reality. Stetson presents the woman on the wallpaper as a symbol of isolation. Likewise, the narrator is imprisoned in a nursery. Because the narrator is in a controlled state of mind, John begins to patronize her. Although writing is very important to the narrator, for him it is the opposite. She considers her writing not an important part of her and does not take care of it properly. John constantly refers to the narrator with the word “little” to show readers that he is superior to her and that she has less power. Stetson writes: “I'm glad my case isn't serious! But these nervous disorders are terribly depressing. John doesn't know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and this satisfies him” (p. 649). Referring to the theme of the narrator's mental illness, male dominance is also present. John puts an end to his depressive suffering more like “nervous problems”. Since John believes that her case is "not serious", the narrator also begins to believe this to be true, due to the superiority John has over her. By treating the narrator as if she were incompetent and incapable of taking care of herself, John doesn't care