As the symbolism of the house progresses, Jane is repelled and then obsessed. In the story, Gilman uses a series of complex symbols such as the house, the window, and the wallpaper. Although it is usual to find the symbol of the house as a safe place, in this story that is not the case. She does not want to be in the house and repeatedly calls it "haunted". Even though she hated the house, it served as a cocoon for her transformation. The house allowed and contained its metamorphosis. The house also facilitates her release, welcoming her, her writings and her thoughts. These two activities are evolving due to the fact that she is kept at home. Another feature of the house is the window. The window symbolizes everything it could have or could be. At the beginning of the story she likes the window and frequently looks out the window, but near the end she says, "I don't even like looking out the window - there are so many of these crawling women and they crawl so quickly. .” When she says this, she implies that she finally realizes that women are not equal to men and that they must “slide” into the shadows of society. When she no longer wants to look out the window, it's because she doesn't want to see all the other women who have to slip into the shadows because she knows they are reflections of herself. The window is no longer a door for her, she cannot enter on the other side, literally, because John will not let her, and because this world will not belong to her. She will always be controlled and forced to control her personal expression (a variation of conventional symbols). The greatest form of symbolism in the story is the room with the yellow wallpaper. The yellow wallpaper serves two purposes throughout the story: first, to cage her, and then to free her. Jane describes wallpaper as worst thing she ever did.