"It is the same woman, for she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight," (Gilman 537).
First of all, I am thoroughly delighted by the fact that is almost a whole section in this story devoted to "creeping" and "creepers." Of course, it is safe to assume that is definitely not used in the same context that most people would relate those terms to today, but putting it into that perspective for just a couple minutes before I moved on with the reading gave me a good laugh.
In all seriousness, though, now, the story's context of the woman creeping is slightly different. The woman that the narrator claims to see creeping around "by daylight" could quite possibly be the narrator, herself. Her fear of the yellow wallpaper is manifested at night by the woman trapped beneath it. In actuality, the woman trapped beneath the wallpaper, is the narrator trapped by her own thoughts and fears. It is herself that she imagines crawling around and around beneath the wallpaper, when in reality she is going in dizzying circles with the thoughts in her mind and driving herself crazy. By day, she is free of the crawling yellow wallpaper, but then she sees "the woman" everywhere, in the garden, in the yard, etc.
Yeah, this story was slightly weird and creepy in itself, but in all fairness, very interesting and well-written, I thought.
I agree that this story is very well written, Bethany. No matter how many times I read it, I still have questions when I am done. I think that is the mark of a good story--One that makes you want to go back and reread to try and figure something out.