Moonlight

What do the woman trapped behind the yellow wallpaper and werewolves have in common?

Yes, we know they're both fictitious. But they're also both activated by la luna.

During the day, the narrator writes that the woman trapped in the wallpaper is motionless. As moonlight strikes the wall, however, the woman begins to move and creep about. (Ugh. That's so eerie.)

This pattern of sun = immobility and moon = creepin' time mirrors the narrator’s own daily activity. During the day, she sleeps; at night she lies awake, alert, and invested in the intellectual activity that she has to suppress during the day while her husband is watching.

The symbol of the moonlight is also compounded by the fact that the moon has long been regarded as inherently feminine. In Greek mythology, the moon was represented by the goddess Selene, while the god Helios represented the sun. In Chinese philosophy, "yin" represents both the moon and the feminine, while "yang" represents masculinity and the sun. And in Western literary tradition, the waxing and waning of the moon has been compared to the "inconstant" nature of womanhood...mainly because a lot of Western literary tradition is super, super sexist.

So there you have it: nighttime is the right time...at least when it comes to crawling around behind wallpaper.