Quotes Flashcards
‘But John would not hear of it’
John’s word is law, he leaves her no say in decisions
‘It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby’
She has no sense of connection with her baby
‘Little goose’, ‘Little Girl’ and ‘Dear’
John perceives his wife (and all women) as mentally ‘childish’ and inferior when compared to men
A strange figure ‘skulking about behind’ the wallpaper
Her sanity is degrading further, her depression is beginning to overwhelm her
‘So of course I said no more on that score’
She has no choice but to accept John’s rulings
The paper ‘changes as the light changes’
Her depression waxes and wanes throughout the day, worsening at night time (‘by daylight she is subdued, quiet’)
‘A very funny mark on the wall’
Shows her untrustworthiness as she doesn’t tell the audience it was in fact she who caused it - this provides more evidence towards her declining mental state
‘For nobody could get out through that pattern - it strangles so’
Societal norms and expectations repress her desire to exhibit her true desires and ‘self’
‘I shall have to get back behind the pattern…’
She is identifying more with her depression than with her previous, sane self - she has lost control of her actions
‘I’ve got out at last…in spite of you!’
Facilitated by her depression-caused insanity, the narrator is finally able to ‘break free’ from her repressed societal role and live life in the way she desires, unrestricted by the confines previously placed upon her by men
