The Yellow Wallpaper Discussion Questions (p.

379)
1. How would you describe the storys setting? How and why is the
setting significant? Specifically, how is the room with the yellow
wallpaper significant?
2. The time of day is often referenced in this story. How is the time
of day significant?
3. How does the narrator's description of the wallpaper change over
time? What does the wallpaper represent?
4. What parts do gender and motherhood play in this story?
5. What is the narrative style of this story? What is the effect of this
style in developing the main character? How does this style
influence the way the reader understands the main character?
6. To what extent do you find the narrator believable? Is it
important that a narrator is believable?
7. What does the narrator believe is the best cure for her? Do you
agree or disagree? How does this contrast with what her husband
and brother say? What is the significance of this contrast?
8. What is notable about the setting of this story? Reflect upon the
characteristics of the place the narrator is staying.
9. What is the significance of the woman behind the yellow
wallpaper? What does the ending of the story suggest about the
woman behind the wallpaper? How are this woman and the
wallpaper symbolic?
10.
How would you describe the narrators mental state at the
beginning of the story? How does she change throughout the
story? Does the narration mimic the narrators mental state?
11.
What does the narrator mean when she says, Ive got out
at last, in spite of you and Jane?
12.
What does the story suggest about middle-class womens
place and role(s) in society in the late 1800s?