The Story of an Hour and the Yellow Wallpaper

The women in The Story of an Hour and The Yellow Wallpaper attempt to

overcome their oppression by finding an outlet. They tried to find something or do

something that would comfort them. In The Story of an Hour, the window is the main

symbol. Correspondingly, in The Yellow Wallpaper, the wallpaper itself is the main

symbol.

In The Story of an Hour, the window is what symbolizes Mrs. Mallard’s

freedom in that she has new opportunities. She says that she is finally free, “free body

and soul.” She says this because she realizes that she is finally free from her husband. It

can be inferred from the story she was oppressed because she didn’t have any

opportunities in the past. The window is what releases her from her oppression by setting

her free and giving her new opportunities that were not available to her in the past.

In The Yellow Wallpaper, the wallpaper symbolizes her oppression in a way. In

which John’s wife sees a woman in the wallpaper. During the daytime the light makes it

look as if she is behind bars shaking them. However, during the night the woman in the

wallpaper creeps around. John’s Wife relates the woman in the wallpaper to herself by

saying