Who Would Like This Book:
This story is a gothic, psychological classic that packs a powerful punch in a very short format. If you like unsettling tales, unreliable narrators, and stories that make you think about women's roles and mental health - especially how both were misunderstood in the past - you'll find this fascinating. Literature and history buffs, fans of feminist writing, or anyone who enjoys layered symbolism and stories that linger in the mind will appreciate it. The diary-style narrative makes it feel intimate and real, as if you're peeking inside a troubled mind.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers find it confusing, especially given the stream-of-consciousness writing and dated language. If you prefer straightforward plots or action, you might find the story slow, claustrophobic, or repetitive. Its heavy symbolism and ambiguous, eerie tone can also be unsettling, and the lack of clear answers or concrete closure isn't everyone's cup of tea. Younger or less experienced readers may miss some of the historical and feminist context, making the story harder to appreciate fully.
About:
'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story that delves into a woman's descent into madness as she stays confined in a room with yellow wallpaper, growing obsessed with it. The book explores themes of women's mental health issues in the late 19th century, particularly postpartum depression, and the mistreatment of women by society and the medical profession. The narrative is a powerful commentary on women's lack of power in a male-dominated world, showcasing the consequences of isolation and confinement on one's mental state.
The writing style in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is often described as gothic, haunting, and psychological. It effectively portrays the slow deterioration of the main character's mental state, capturing the reader's attention with vivid descriptions and a sense of impending madness. The story is lauded for its thought-provoking exploration of societal norms and the repression of women, offering a chilling and impactful read in just a few pages.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers and content warnings include themes of mental illness, misogyny, postpartum depression, emotional abuse, and isolation.
From The Publisher:
THE YELLOW WALL-PAPER is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine. It is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature, illustrating attitudes in the 19th century toward women's physical and mental health. Presented in the first person, the story is a collection of journal entries written by a woman whose physician husband has confined her to the upstairs bedroom of a house he has rented for the summer. She is forbidden from working and has to hide her journal from him, so she can recuperate from what he calls a "temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency," a diagnosis common to women in that period.
Ratings (398)
Incredible (66) | |
Loved It (155) | |
Liked It (107) | |
It Was OK (52) | |
Did Not Like (14) | |
Hated It (4) |
Reader Stats (781):
Read It (441) | |
Currently Reading (3) | |
Want To Read (241) | |
Did Not Finish (5) | |
Not Interested (91) |
18 comment(s)
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This is a short little thing. I listened to it on audiobook whilst doing some thing around the house. I liked it, but I think I need to read it again and give it my full attention before rating it.
This was unsettling. Essential reading if you want to learn more about the history of women’s rights in the Victorian era.
That poor woman went batshit crazy in that big Ole mansion....
So short I feel funny counting it but here we are.
And it's just as creepy as I was expecting.
2.5⭐
This book made me spiral on why people liked this book, it was just too surface level for me.
It's a very short story but oh boy did it pack a punch! It's haunting and will stay with me for a long time!
loved this short, haunting tale
4*
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What can you read after
The Yellow Wallpaper?
About the Author:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was born in New England, a descendant of the prominent and influential Beecher family. In 1884 she married Charles Water Stetson. After giving birth, Charlotte sank into a deep depression. She entered a sanitarium in Philadelphia to undergo the 'rest cure', a controversial treatment, which forbade any type of physical activity or intellectual stimulation. 1892, she published the now-famous story 'The Yellow Wall-Paper'. In 1898, her most famous nonfiction book, Women and Economics, was published. With its publication, and subsequent translation into seven languages, Gilman earned international acclaim. In 1900, she married her first cousin, George Houghton Gilman. Over the next thirty-five years, she wrote and published hundreds of stories and poems and more than a dozen books. Denise D. Knight is a professor of English at the State University of New York at Courtland, where she specializes in nineteenth-century American Literature. She is author of Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Study of the Short Fiction and editor of The Later Poetry of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Diaries of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Abridged Diaries of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and Selected Stories of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. She is also the author of numerous articles, essays, and reviews on nineteenth-century American writers.
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