The most likely purpose for including this passage in "The Yellow Wallpaper" is to contrast the narrator’s creative mind with her husband’s strict ideas. The excerpt highlights the conflict between the narrator's imaginative tendencies and her husband's rational, controlling nature. He views her creativity as a potential source of illness, while she tries to suppress her natural inclinations in order to conform to his expectations. This contrast underscores broader themes of repression and the limitations placed on women's self-expression in the context of the story.
Read this excerpt from “The Yellow Wallpaper” and remember what you thought about the author’s purpose for writing the story.
Out of another I get a lovely view of the bay and a little private wharf belonging to the estate. There is a beautiful shaded lane that runs down there from the house. I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try.
What is MOST LIKELY the author’s purpose for including this passage in her story?
to contrast the narrator’s creative mind with her husband’s strict ideas
to show that the narrator of the story is mentally ill and her husband wants to help her
to examine the consequences of having too much imagination
to describe what life was like for women in the 1800s
1 answer