It is only up to the individual to recognize it and do something about it before it is too late. The narrator has reached her breaking point at the end of the story, but at that point her condition has transformed into something more serious than it was at the beginning. No one should be left alone when going through a difficult time in their life. Creating the images of the woman in the background was a desperate attempt to help. Represent how trapped the narrator felt in the room. Not sleeping all night and locking himself in the room to finally do something about the wallpaper that the narrator hated so much. In this way the narrator not only freed the woman but also freed herself from that room. John would finally know the extent of his illness and perhaps pay some attention to his wife. By then it was a little too late to help, but only time would tell if there was any damage