Narrator and point of view

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a first-person narration and is written from the point of view of the main character, a mentally ill woman. All her thoughts are conveyed as journal entries: “I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me.” (p. 6, ll. 31-32)

Using only her point of view means that we do not know what other characters think and feel. We can make inferences based on their attitudes and on the narrator’s observations about them: “He seems very queer sometimes, and even Jennie has an inexplicable look.” (p. 12, ll. 20-21); “And I heard him ask Jennie a lot of professional questions about me. She had a very good report to give.” (p. 15, ll. 7-8). Also, dialogue is also, allowing other characters to convey their point of view directly:

‘My darling,’ said he, ‘I beg of you, for my sake and for our child's...