The Unreliable Narrator

What makes a narrator unreliable? According to The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, an unreliable narrator is a character whose interpretation of events is different from the author’s. (Meyer,2014,195). It is a character who tells the reader a story that cannot be taken at face value. This may be because the point of view character is insane, lying, deluded or for any number of other reasons. ("What is an Unreliable Narrator? ," 2016, para. 1). In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” there is an unreliable narrator. What makes the narrator unreliable in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman is her mixed views on what is happening around her, her trustworthiness, and her mental health issues.

The short story starts off with a narrator who has some sort of mental illness. Her husband is also her doctor and prescribes her rest and no writing in her diary anymore. As the story progresses her mental state deteriorates and she becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her room. At first, she hates the wallpaper, but as time goes on she begins to look at the wallpaper differently. She thinks there is a woman living in the wallpaper but she is not certain if it is real or not. The reader never really knows what she is seeing is real or not, making her unreliable throughout the story.

While reading the story, the narrator's blended perspectives on everything around her comes into question. The reader must decide if she can be trusted. Her tendency to change her mind throughout the story becomes confusing to the readers. The narrator will express that she is becoming extremely unwell some days, and the next day she is saying that she is improving. The concept of her mind changing makes the reader more confused about her and unsure whether to trust her or not. This indicates to the reader that she is not the most reliable person. An example of her mind changing is seen in the quote, “The wallpaper, 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,” “But I don’t mind it a bit- only the paper.” (Perkins-Gilman, 1899).She initially is not too fond of the wallpaper. She shows complete opposition but as the story progresses, her view of the wallpaper changes. She goes on to say, “I’m getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper, perhaps because of the wallpaper.” (Perkins-Gilman, 1899). Her view of the wallpaper has changed, making it difficult for the reader to decipher what she really thinks about it, making her unreliable.

Also, at first, she does not say much about her husband, John, except the fact that he is a wise man. Then, she says she is afraid of him, “The fact is I am getting a little afraid of John.” (Perkins-Gilman,1899). Then she goes on to say that he is a very loving man. By considering this, the reader can know that the narrator is more unreliable than she is reliable. At the beginning of the story, she sees John as this person who is trying to take care of her and her well-being is to the best of his interests. “Dear John! He loves me dearly and hates to have me sick.” (Perkins-Gilman, 1899). However, later on in the story, the narrator seems to despise John, “He asked