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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
First Entry
Explanation and Analysis—Careful and Loving:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” uses situational irony to reinforce the author’s criticism of Victorian-era gender roles. It is evident that John cares deeply for his wife, Jane, but he also dismisses her needs. Jane recognizes this contradiction in a diary entry that summarizes John’s “cure”:
[John] is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction [...] he takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful not to value it more. He said we came here solely on my account, that I was to have perfect rest and all the air I could get.
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Second Entry
Explanation and Analysis—Dreadfully Depressing:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” relies on verbal irony to underpin Jane’s powerlessness and suffering. It also lets the reader enter her subconscious to determine what she means in comparison to what she says. Following a move into a secluded country estate, Jane takes a prolonged break from writing in her diary. When she finally gathers enough strength to write, her statements are contradictory:
Unlock with LitCharts A+John is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious. I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing.
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Explanation and Analysis—He Loves Me So:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” uses dramatic irony to highlight Jane’s fragile mental state and helplessness. After a few weeks in isolation, Jane misses the comforts of her old home, and in her second diary entry she laments being forced to live in an unwelcoming environment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The wall-paper, as I said before, is torn off in spots, and it sticketh closer than a brother—they must have had perseverance as well as hatred. Then the floor is scratched and gouged and splintered, the plaster itself is dug out here and there, and this great heavy bed which is all we found in the room, looks as if it had been through the wars.
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Fifth Entry
Explanation and Analysis—He Loves Me So:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” uses dramatic irony to highlight Jane’s fragile mental state and helplessness. After a few weeks in isolation, Jane misses the comforts of her old home, and in her second diary entry she laments being forced to live in an unwelcoming environment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The wall-paper, as I said before, is torn off in spots, and it sticketh closer than a brother—they must have had perseverance as well as hatred. Then the floor is scratched and gouged and splintered, the plaster itself is dug out here and there, and this great heavy bed which is all we found in the room, looks as if it had been through the wars.
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Seventh Entry
Explanation and Analysis—He Loves Me So:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” uses dramatic irony to highlight Jane’s fragile mental state and helplessness. After a few weeks in isolation, Jane misses the comforts of her old home, and in her second diary entry she laments being forced to live in an unwelcoming environment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The wall-paper, as I said before, is torn off in spots, and it sticketh closer than a brother—they must have had perseverance as well as hatred. Then the floor is scratched and gouged and splintered, the plaster itself is dug out here and there, and this great heavy bed which is all we found in the room, looks as if it had been through the wars.
Related Themes:
