before beginning the story, read Gilman’s biography here to gain an understanding of her motivation for writing this story.

Read “The Yellow Wallpaper” here, or get a hypertext version with footnotes here. As you read, consider the question: What does Gilman’s story suggest about middle-class women’s place and role in this society?

Answer the questions with at least 3 sentences

1- What is the situation that the narrator finds herself in at the beginning of the story?

2- What is John’s attitude toward his wife, especially in terms of her illness? In the course of thinking about this issue, consider the symbolism of the “nursery.”

3- Identify some of the ways in which the conflict between the narrator and her husband are established

4- What are the narrator’s feelings toward her husband?

5- Do you think John is trying to drive his wife crazy?

6- Are there any clues that suggest that the woman in the story is not an entirely “reliable” narrator? Is there any irony to this fact?

7- Consider the multiple functions that the wallpaper plays in the story. Also, does the wall paper remain the same throughout the story, or does it change?

8- What does the creeping figure in the wallpaper represent?

9- What is theprincipalsocialinstitutionagainstwhichthenarrator of thestorystruggles?

10- In what ways might the ending of the story be seen as both a victory and a defeat for the narrator? In what ways is her situation both similar to and different from that of the woman in the wallpaper?