The Yellow Wallpaper
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
First Entry
Explanation and Analysis:

“The Yellow Wallpaper” takes place in a sprawling country estate toward the end of the 19th century. Both the time and the physical location play an important role in developing the narrator, Jane’s, repression, isolation, and captivity as a woman suffering from postpartum depression. While discussing her illness and treatment, Jane mentions her lack of input:

And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression [...] My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing [...] Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?