“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:
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.
Jane says that her illness “is not serious,” but she then expresses concern over her depressive state. Additionally, she begins the entry by stating that she has not felt like writing, a somewhat alarming revelation given that writing is her only outlet for expressing herself candidly. There is an obvious inconsistency between what Jane asserts and what she feels, and this incongruity creates verbal irony.
Until this moment in the story, Jane has insisted that her condition is serious, but John has repeatedly rejected her concerns because he believes that she has a “temporary nervous depression.” Jane’s sudden downplaying does not match her previous statements, which signals that the reader should question her curious reversal. Jane’s condition is worsening, and she only downplays it to cope with the reality of her situation—her illness is cause for concern, and she knows it.
The verbal irony in this passage—that is, the contrast between what Jane writes and the reality of her condition—also allows the reader to empathize with Jane. Since Jane is mostly left alone, she has no one to console her. Therefore, her claim that her case isn’t serious is a consequence of her isolation. The reader is meant to sympathize with Jane’s character because she trivializes the seriousness of her condition as a way to cope with her anguish over John’s dismissal of her.
