The narrator is a writer and new mother experiencing what is diagnosed as a temporary nervous depression. Confined to a former nursery at the top of a rented country mansion, she is subjected to a strict rest cure that forbids her from working or socializing. Her highly active mind, starved for stimulation, becomes fixated on the peeling yellow wallpaper in her room. She feels a deep desire to be a traditional wife but struggles against her growing resentment toward her extreme isolation.

John is a highly respected doctor and a deeply pragmatic man who firmly believes in the tenets of the rest cure for his wife's condition. He dismisses anything that cannot be quantified or proven, rendering him unable to recognize his wife's deteriorating psychological state. Operating as a traditional, authoritative husband, he genuinely believes his strict control over her environment is an expression of love.

Jennie is John's sister and serves as the housekeeper for the rented summer mansion. She is perfectly content with her domestic role and harbors no creative ambitions, placing her in direct contrast to the narrator. Diligent and protective, she frequently checks on her sister-in-law while John is away to ensure the doctor's orders are being followed.

Mary is a member of the household staff hired specifically to care for the infant. She functions quietly in the background, taking on the maternal duties that the narrator's anxiety prevents her from fulfilling. Her presence highlights the household's traditional structure and the narrator's removal from family life.

The newborn son of the narrator and John. He is kept entirely separate from his mother due to her nervous condition and postpartum struggles. His existence serves as the catalyst for the narrator's illness, yet he remains physically absent from her daily routine in the top-floor nursery.