QUOTE:
“I have found out another funny thing, but I shan’t tell it this time! It does not do to trust people too much” (Gilman 817).
SUMMARY:
The narrator of Gilman’s story seems to be unreliable now. She is completely obsessed with the wall-paper, so this cure may be causing her supposed “condition” to drive her crazy for real.
RESPONSE:
Since this quote makes the narrator seem paranoid and weird, it’s hard to trust anything she says about the wall-paper. In a way, I think this quote just gives the readers some hope for a straightforward explanation or conclusion at the end of the story; however, it may just be a sentence to make it seem like Gilman knows the answer. For some reason, I don’t think Gilman ever thought of a real explanation for what is happening in the story, so her character is free to notice anything and make any assumptions.
At this point, Gilman can have her character think anything without having her make any sense, and yet, the point Gilman is making about the “rest cure” actually does make sense. Forcing women stay in bed without thinking too hard sounds more like a punishment than a way to “get better” from a non-existent illness. This made me think that the main character even purposely acts crazy at the end, just to get back at her husband (to teach him a lesson).
I’m glad that I read Why I Wrote “The Yellow Wall-paper”? after the story though, because Gilman at least tells the “story of the story,” and puts anyone who feels a little more insane from reading it at ease. It even seems like a “disclaimer” that people should read before they read the story! The last sentence especially makes me feel better about Gilman possibly getting some satisfaction from her work, since it seems like her personal life wasn’t very happy.
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