The Effect of Major Symbolic Elements in The Yellow Wallpaper Women in literature are often portrayed in a position that is dominated by men, especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed and controlled by their husbands as well as other male influences. In "The Yellow Wall-Paper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator is oppressed and represents the major theme of the effect of oppression of women in society. This effect is created by the use of complex symbols such as the window, the house, and the wall-paper which all promote her oppression as well as her self