A combination of a thriller and a social drama, The Yellow Wallpaper , is mesmerizingly frightening. The novel analyzes the complicated issue of feminism in the conservative society in a very unusual manner. Because of the clever use of literary devices, a simple story was turned into a cautionary tale and a masterpiece of the thriller genre. To start with, the novel contains a brief allusion to the Holy Virgin, which Gilman makes me mentioning the narrator’s sister, Mary (Gilman 649). In addition, Gilman sets a very dark tone by creating a contrast between the lighthearted atmosphere of the hotel and the depressing state that the narrator is in. The pathetic fallacy also adds to the unsettling contrast, such as the room being “strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight” (Gilman 650). By far the creepiest element of the stylistic choices made by the author, the use of personification deserves a specific mentioning: “The front pattern does move – and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it!” (Gilman 634). On a surface, the image of a woman trying to break through her paper-thin prison is solely the product of the narrator’s deformed imagination. However, such details as the narrator’s insane sympathy for the “vision” indicate that the woman behind the wallpaper is the personification of the lead character’s fears and the representation of the demons that the narrator has inside, particularly her desire to come out of her shell and become an active member of the society:: “[…] she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight. […] It must be very humiliating to be caught creeping by daylight!” (Gilman 654). As insane as this statement is, it points to the social restrictions imposed on women, the process of “creeping,” possibly signifying the intent to enter the domain traditionally defined as the “male” one (Bailey 28). Thus, the imagery, particularly the woman behind the wallpaper, is a metonymic representation of social boundaries that most women had to face at the time, and a very powerful one at that – Gilman clearly knew the power of people’s superstition and fear of the supernatural. Another major part of what can be read between the lines of Gilman’s story, the metaphor has also played a great role in the creation of the surreal atmosphere and the development of key ideas. The final and by far the most memorable scene of the lead character crawling over her husband’s presumably unconscious (or, arguably, dead) body can be interpreted as a metaphor for the deplorable outcomes that the unwillingness to recognize women’s rights may lead to. It would be a mistake to consider the ending of the story a direct threat; instead, it should be viewed as a cautionary tale about the peril of intolerance. More about The Yellow Wallpaper What Is the Theme of The Yellow Wallpaper? 5 128 Why Did John Faint in The Yellow Wallpaper? 4.5 4064 What Is The Yellow Wallpaper’s Ending Like? 5 150 What Role Does the Wallpaper Woman Play in the Story? 5 101 How Does the Narrator Feel about Jennie in the Yellow Wallpaper? 5 578 In The Yellow Wallpaper, the Words Such as “Yellow” and “Creeping” Change Their Meanings. Why Is It So? 5 75 The rest of the literary devices used throug