The Yellow Wallpaper - Author's Choices

How does the author’s choice to use 1st person narration create a surprise ending?

• The author shows multiple perspectives except for the narrator's so it is a surprise to hear what she thinks at the end.

• The husband's sudden choice to leave the narrator is unexpected.

• The reader does not know that the narrator is going crazy, but that detail is revealed at the end.

• The abrupt shift in location causes the reader to be surprised by the narrator's actions.

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What is surprising about the end of the story?

• The husband faints and shows symptoms of his own "melancholia" which causes him to undergo the rest cure.

• The narrator was imagining the woman trapped in the yellow wallpaper because she was going mentally insane.

• The narrator makes friends with a woman that lives on the estate and that helps her overcome her melancholia.

• The doctor admits that the rest cure is not an effective treatment for "melancholia."

What is the mystery in the story and how does the author develop this mystery?

• The mystery is whether or not John (the husband) really loves his wife and if he is cheating on her.

• The mystery is who killed the narrator and why they did it.

• The mystery is what caused the narrator to develop melancholia.

• The mystery is whether or not the woman in the wallpaper is real which is developed through the descriptions of the wallpaper in the text.

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Why might the reader experience tension in the story?

• The yellow wallpaper makes us uncomfortable and want to stop reading.

• The narrator's husband does not listen to her and controls her. We can see this, but the narrator seems to be unaware.

• The way the narrator treats the servant is unjust and evidence of racial bias.

• The society in which the woman lives is very restrictive to women preventing them from receiving the type of mental help they need.

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How does the author’s description of the wallpaper change the mood over the course of the story?

• The mood shifts from hopeful to creepy because of the way the narrator describes the wallpaper.

• The mood shifts from depressing to lighthearted because she is healed in the end.

• The mood shifts from peaceful to exciting because of her discovery of the woman in the wallpaper.

• The mood shifts from suspenseful to charming because she and her husband fall in love at the end.

What effect do the lapses* in time have on the story?

*lapse--the passing of something

• The lapses in time slow the story down and provide more detail.

• The lapses in time speed the story up.

• The lapses in time show the narrator's mental decline.

• The lapses in time reveal the narrator's character.

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How would you describe the narrator’s relationship with her husband? How does this relationship affect the story’s development?

• The narrator is controlled by her husband which leads to her mental decline.

• She and her husband have a healthy relationships that benefits them both.

• The narrator and her husband love each other deeply and support one another.

• The narrator resents her husband for keeping her locked up, but she does not feel free to discuss this with him.

What clues do we have throughout the story that the narrator is slipping further towards a mental breakdown? How does this create suspense?

• The narrator's relationship with her husband reveals her breakdown. Their fights cause suspense.

• The descriptions of the wallpaper become more and more strange over the course of the story. This causes the reader to anticipate her breakdown, causing suspense.

• The plot twist in the middle of the story where her mental illness is revealed creates a feeling of suspense.

• The imagery creates a feeling of suspense.

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How does the author’s choice of setting contribute to the plot development?

• The setting is what leads the woman to eventually go insane. She is locked in one room.

• The time period shows us how much freedom women had back then.

• The setting develops the mood of the story.

• The economic status of the maid causes her to commit crimes, driving the plot forward.

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