by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight. Just this nervous weakness, I suppose.
And dear John gathered me up in his arms, and just carried me upstairs and laid me on the bed, and sat by me and read to me till it tired my head.
He said I was his darling and his comfort and all he had, and that I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep well.
He says no one but myself can help me out of it, that I must use my will and self-control and not let any silly fancies run away with me.
There’s one comfort, the baby is well and happy, and does not have to occupy this nursery with the horrid wallpaper.
If we had not used it that blessed child would have! What a fortunate escape! Why, I wouldn’t have a child of mine, an impressionable little thing, live in such a room for worlds.
I never thought of it before, but it is lucky that John kept me here after all. I can stand it so much easier than a baby, you see.
Of course I never mention it to them any more,—I am too wise,—but I keep watch of it all the same.
There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will.
Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day.
It is always the same shape, only very numerous.
And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don’t like it a bit. I wonder—I begin to think—I wish John would take me away from here!
It is so hard to talk with John about my case, because he is so wise, and because he loves me so.
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Question
Use the passage to answer the question.
This passage appears later in the story. What does it reveal about the narrator?
(1 point)
Responses
that she is adapting to motherhood well.
that she is adapting to motherhood well.
that she is being well cared for by her husband.
that she is being well cared for by her husband.
that she is gradually settling into the room.
that she is gradually settling into the room.
that her mental state is slowly deteriorating.
1 answer
The correct response is:
that her mental state is slowly deteriorating.
In the passage, the narrator expresses feelings of confusion and struggle with her thoughts, indicative of a decline in her mental health. She fixates on the wallpaper and begins to perceive it as a representation of a woman creeping behind the pattern, which suggests a detachment from reality and a growing obsession that points to her deteriorating mental state.
