Decoding the Thematic Imagery in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Katherine Mansfield’s “Bliss”

This paper deploys the methodology of textual analysis to re-read and undertake an exegesis of the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “Bliss” penned by modernist writer Katherine Mansfield. The exploration of the symbols and imagery that abound in the texts reveal and underscore the thematic framework of the short stories. While the colour, animal and food imagery add richness to the story of Bertha Mason in “Bliss”, the multifarious symbols are symptomatic of the protagonist’s mental make-up and the descent into madness of her creative propensity in “The Yellow Wallpaper”.