In the 19th century, women were often suppressed and controlled by their husbands and other men. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator is oppressed to the point of insanity. Gilman uses symbolism when describing the characters, setting and the wallpaper allowing the reader to experience the narrator’s descent into madness as a result of female oppression. The author’s description of the three main characters allows the reader to better understand what it would be like to be a female in the late 19th century. The narrator and also the main character of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a young wife and mother who has recently been experiencing signs of depression and anxiety. John, her physician husband diagnoses her with “temporary nervous depression---a slight hysterical tendency”, and prescribes her three months of the rest cure. She was confined to the nursery in their rented summer home, and not allowed to write, engage with people she wanted to, or see her baby. Anyone in this situation could easily progress toward madness. Her husband John is a proud physician who tells his wife that he only wants what is best for her, but he is being very controlling. According to the narrator, “He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down fingers on”PAGE85. In essence, John encompasses a superior rationality that makes in challenging for the narrator to try and make John understand her discomfort with her room and what she is seeing in the wallpaper. The third character Jennie is Johns sister, “she is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession” PAGE 87. She is symbolic of women in the late 19th century who were content with their domestic roles. The setting in which this story takes place is also imperative to evaluate the symbolism used by Gilman. The story begi