Falling from the Shoulders of Giants

Progressive dementia is the process by which an individual gradually losses their intellectual capacity and personality integration. In "The Yellow Wall-Paper," Gilman captures the essence of the journey to madness via her use of first person narration. The relationship between Jane, the narrator of the story, and her husband John provokes an uneasy curiosity in the reader. While the evidence that John sincerely cares for his wife and is attempting everything in his power to facilitate her recovery is apparent, a careful analysis of the story alludes to the possibility that he may be, perhaps inadvertently, at the root of her insanity.
Since "The Yellow Wall-Paper" is written in first-person, the reader's view of each of the characters is limited by the narrator's descriptions. …