The narrator and her physician husband, John rented a mansion for the summer so that she can get better from a slight depression. Although the narrator does not believe that she’s sick, John is convinced that she is suffering from neurasthenia and tells her to rest. She is confined to bed rest in a former nursery room and is forbidden from working or writing. The spacious room has yellow wallpaper stripped off in two places with a hideous, chaotic pattern. The narrator hates the wallpaper, but John refuses to change rooms, arguing that the nursery is best choice for her recovery.
The narrator’s condition worsened. She feels a constant sense of anxiety and fatigue and can barely gather enough energy to write in her secret journal. Fortunately, their nanny, Mary, took care of their baby, and John's sister, Jennie, was a perfect housekeeper. The narrator's irritation with the wallpaper grows. She discovers a repeated pattern of round eyes and broken necks, as well as the faint image of a sneaking figure stuck behind the pattern.
As more days pass, the narrator grows mad and depressed. The wallpaper provides her only stimulation, and she spends the majority of her time studying its confusing patterns. The image of the figure stooping down and "creeping" around behind the wallpaper becomes clearer each day. By moonlight, she can see that the figure is a woman trapped behind bars. The narrator attempts to convince John to leave the house for a visit with relatives, but he refuses and the narrator does not feel comfortable telling him about her discoveries in the wallpaper. Moreover, she is becoming paranoid that John and Jennie are interested in the wallpaper and is determined that she will uncover its secrets.
The narrator's health improves as her interest in the wallpaper deepens. She suspects that Jennie and John are observing her behavior, but her concern is that they become obstacles to her. She begins to notice that the distinct "yellow smell" of the wallpaper...