Final answer:
The narrator in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is excited because she believes she has uncovered and overcome the oppressive patterns of the wallpaper, symbolizing her struggle against social confinement and denial of intellectual freedom. Her attitude shifts from compliance to empowerment mixed with madness, reflecting the story's critique of the patriarchal domination and the rest cure prescribed to women during the 19th century.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator's excitement towards the end of the story stems from her belief that she has uncovered the truth behind the oppressive patterns of the wallpaper that she feels symbolizes her social imprisonment. Initially, she is portrayed as weak and compliant, but as the story progresses, her attitude shifts to one of obsession and revelation. The change in the narrator's attitude is significant as it showcases her gaining a sense of empowerment by interpreting the wallpaper in her own way, separate from her husband's enforced rest cure, and becoming actively engaged in her own mental processes. Her excitement is laced with a hint of madness, as she believes she has freed both herself and the woman she perceives to be trapped within the wallpaper, representing her fight against the suppression of her identity and intellectual freedom.
However, the narrator's inability to recover from her malaise can be attributed to the social constraints and dominant patriarchal practices of the late 1800s that limited women's roles and intellectual growth. Gilman uses the rest cure as an allegory for the restrictive nature of gender roles, suggesting that the narrator's psychological struggles are exacerbated by the lack of autonomy, creative expression, and active engagement in life.