Introduction The short story The Yellow Wallpaper describes problems of the middle-class women and the low status of women in society. The Yellow Wallpapers was first published in 1892 (Shawn, p. 237). In this short story, Gilman depicts a life of a common woman whose destiny is housekeeping. The protagonist suffers greatly because her role in life is limited and disregarded. Using different symbols, Gilman unveils hardship and grievances faced by a common woman, misunderstanding, and indifference towards her. For a long time, the husband does not take into account the psychical state of his wife supposing it is nothing more than a fake. Using unique symbols, Gilman symbolically depicts the low role of women in society and in the family, misunderstanding, and apathy of family members towards possible illnesses and emotional problems faced by women. Main body The yellow wallpaper is the main symbol of the story. This symbol represents the lunatic asylum where the main character is put. It becomes a prison for the protagonist limited her social life and physical activity. “The narrator describes the yellow wallpaper, the central symbol of this triumphantly suffocating domesticity, with elaborate and self-conscious artistic precision” (Hume, p. 3). Gilman uses such important details as the smell of the wallpaper and shades of color to depict her feelings: “the only thing I can think of that it is like is the color of the paper! A yellow smell” (Gilman n.d.). The yellow wallpaper is used as a symbol of depression and loneliness. It uncovers the inner state of the heroin and her psychological distress. Literary critics (Hume, p. 3) explain that the choice of this unique symbol is not accidental, because many doctors of those times used yellow wallpapers as a treatment for mental illnesses. Although, because the social role of the wife is predetermined, Gilman underlines that the woman feels miserable and depressed. She states: “It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper!” (Gilman n.d.). This symbolic meaning helps readers to grasp the idea at once and shapes the atmospheres of loneliness and insanity. Also, this symbol contemplates nature, both the natural world around the narrator and her own inner nature. The protagonist is depicted as a sympathetic and compassionate wife and mother, but she lacks the inner strength essential for survival (Delashmit and Long, p. 32). The yellow color itself is a symbol of insanity and mental illness. Personal feelings and experiences have a great influence on the narrator and her associations and allow readers to interpret the symbol (Fleissner, p. 79). Gilman gives a detailed analysis of this ‘unique’ color: “The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight. It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulfur tint in others” (Gilman n.d.). Also, the story records the changes of the heroin nature and her desire to overcome male oppression and become free from social norms and stereotypes. Also, a specific detailed description of the color and feel of the narrator forces readers to go beneath the surface and interpret this symbol. Probably, “insanity” is an indicator of what happens to people’s thinking about themselves when they can no longer hold on to the old beliefs (Hume, p. 4). Th