The Yellow Wallpaper Study Guide

The short story opens with the female narrator writing about a large home she and her husband are renting for the summer. The couple has just moved in. They have decided to lease the beautiful home so that she can rest in isolation in order to recover from a nervous disorder. The story is written like a journal entry, giving the reader a glimpse into the narrator's troubled thoughts. The unnamed narrator says the mansion is beautiful, and the grounds include traditional landscaped gardens. Despite its grandeur, something has seemed wrong since she first entered the house. She suspects it is haunted. She wonders why the rent was so inexpensive and why the home has been vacant for so long, which further adds to her suspicion about the property. Her husband, John, is a doctor who scoffs at he... (read more)