The Yellow Wallpaper

1. felicity (noun):

the feeling of intense happiness

“A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity—but that would be asking too much of fate!” (Page 131)

2. queer (adjective):

strange or eerie

“Still I will proudly declare that there is something queer about it.” (Page 131)

3. hysterical (adjective):

suffering from uncontrollable emotions, at one time inaccurately believed to be a common condition for women

“If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency—what is one to do?” (Page 131)

4. congenial (adjective):

pleasant and suited to one’s desires

“Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.” (Page 131)

5. nervous condition (noun):

an outdated term for a mental health concern, often used as a blanket diagnosis for behavior that isn’t socially acceptable

“I think it is due to this nervous condition.” (Page 132)

6. piazza (noun):

an open area in a garden or public square

“I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! but John would not hear of it.” (Page 132)

7. smouldering (adjective):

appearing to be burning without open flame

“The color is repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight.” (Page 133)

8. whim (noun):

a passing idea or desire

“It is an airy and comfortable room as anyone need wish, and, of course, I would not be so silly as to make him uncomfortable just for a whim.” (Page 133)

9. bulbous (adjective):

round and bulging

“There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down.” (Page 134)

10. impertinence (noun):

rudeness

“I get positively angry with the impertinence of it and the everlastingness.” (Page 135)

11. Weir Mitchell (proper noun):

a prominent neurologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries and founder of the rest cure

“John says if I don't pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall.” (Page 136)

12. querulous (adjective):

prone to complaining or arguing

“I don't feel as if it was worthwhile to turn my hand over for anything, and I'm getting dreadfully fretful and querulous.” (Page 136)

13. Romanesque (noun):

an artwork or piece of architecture of the 10th–13th centuries notable for its ornate style

14. delirium tremens (noun):

A condition common in psychosis or alcohol withdrawal that involves tremors, anxiety, and hallucination

“Looked at in one way each breadth stands alone, the bloated curves and flourishes—a kind of ‘debased Romanesque’ with delirium tremens—go waddling up and down in isolated columns of fatuity.” (Page 137)

15. Frieze (noun):

a broad band of decoration

“They have used a horizontal breadth for a frieze, and that adds wonderfully to the confusion.” (Page 137)

16. arabesque (noun):

A pattern of woven, curled lines

“The outside pattern is a florid arabesque, reminding one of a fungus.” (Page 139)

17. shining hours (noun):

daytime hours

“‘But now let's improve the shining hours by going to sleep, and talk about it in the morning!’” (Page 140)

18. reproachful (adjective):

disapproving

“‘Better in body perhaps—' I began, and stopped short, for he sat up straight and looked at me with such a stern, reproachful look that I could not say another word.” (Page 140)

19. patent (adjective):

easily recognizable or obvious

“She tried to get me out of the room—it was too patent!” (Page 145)

20. derision (noun):

mockery or ridicule

“All those strangled heads and bulbous eyes and waddling fungus growths just shriek with derision!” (Page 146)