While the deadnailed bed represents a lack of choice, the wallpaper in the narrator’s room symbolizes a method of escapism. On page 6, the narrator describes an encounter with John that clearly added to her anxiety “John says if I don’t pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall.”. Later on the same page, she draws her attention to the wallpaper searching for answers about her predicament ““I start, we’ll say, at the bottom, down in the corner over there where it has not been touched, and I determine for the thousandth time that I WILL follow that pointless pattern to some sort of a conclusion.” She turns to the wallpaper for answers because she doesn’t have anyone to turn to. By looking to the wallpaper for guidance, she is exhibiting the only act of choice she has. In her own way, the narrator is reflecting upon her predicament with John and their relationship. The “pointless pattern” is how she views their relationship and the conclusion she seeks is her longing to escape the oppression he places on her. Although she doesn’t state this explicitly, it is clear she feels less than within her relationship and it is evident that John induces her anxiety rather than alleviating it.
