O Papel de Parede Amarelo e A Terra Delas

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Tânia Ganho (Introdução), Madalena Caramona (Tradução)

«Pessoalmente, acredito que um trabalho aprazível, com um certo grau de entusiasmo e mudança, me faria bem. Mas que posso eu fazer?»

Em 1890, recuperada da depressão pós-parto que a assolou após o nascimento da filha, Charlotte Perkins Gilman traduz essa experiência em O Papel de Parede Amarelo. Afastada da sociedade, uma mulher com pleno domínio das suas faculdades mentais – apesar do que as pessoas à sua volta e um desconcertante papel de parede pareciam sugerir – sucumbe gradualmente à loucura.

Em A Terra Delas, utopia publicada mais de vinte anos depois, três homens encontram uma comunidade isolada, composta apenas por mulheres. A constatação da ordem, da paz e da entreajuda reinantes força-os a questionar o que tinham como certo sobre o sexo oposto.

Denunciando a castradora condição social das mulheres no século XIX ou explorando e subvertendo os papéis de género, a voz assertiva e independente de Charlotte Perkins Gilman afirma-se como uma das mais importantes e originais na literatura norte-americana.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Horror, Feminism, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Utopia

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), also known as Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist during a time when her accomplishments were exceptional for women, and she served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout of post-partum depression.

She was the daughter of Frederic B. Perkins.

Reviews

[Jennopenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. But f*ck Terry though. He's awful.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for Yellow Wallpaper, 2.5 for Herland which, while interesting and still relevant in many ways had a bit too much of a eugenics vibe to rank as an worthwhile utopia. Still, credit where it is due, Gilman recognised in 1915 that an all women society would ultimately prioritise pockets on every garment as part of their ruling philosophy.

[Pixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read 'Herland' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman many years ago as part of my many readings into utopic societies and ideas. This is still a fabulous story, a fictional utopia, written at a time (1915) when women were still struggling for the right to vote & the US was slowly breaking out of the Victorian modes of living yet reflects some new thinking of the time. There will be no spoilers here but I will say that it hearkens to social reforms, environmental awareness as well as being a classic novel of feminist literature - a super read. Most books which publish her writings include some of her other short stories as well as her poems, this one did not disappoint either & there is much to be gleaned from her idealizations, some clearly based on personal experiences as per her biographers. She writes playfully & somewhat lightly but with great skill to get her viewpoint across - all definitely worth reading more than once too!

[Gedankenlabor · Rating 5 out of 5]

>>...Wenn sich doch bloß das obere Muster von dem unteren lösen ließe! Ich werde es versuchen, Stück für Stück.<<
"Die gelbe Tapete" von Charlotte Perkins Gilman war 1892 ihr Durchbruch. Zur damaligen Zeit eine verpönte vermeidliche Horrorerzählung über eine Frau, die nach der Geburt ihres Kindes in einer Dachkammer zur Schonung gezwungen wird. Von objektiven Beschreibungen des Raumes schweift man schnell zur Gedankenwelt der Frau und das empfand ich als sehr interessant! Zum einen wird hier deutlich, dass Schonung zwar positives generiert, gleichzeitig aber eben auch (wie hier in diesem Fall) zu einer Isolation wird, die der Gesundheit, insbesondere der mentalen Gesundheit alles andere als gut tut.
Ein Aspekt, der mich hier beim Lesen immer wieder unheimlich geärgert hat, war, wie lapidar mit den Ängsten und Gedanken der Frau umgegangen wird und wie simpel ihre Empfindungen abgetan werden. Insbesondere von den Herren der Schöpfung, die sich für den alleswissenden Nabel der Welt zu halten scheinen. Gleichzeitig spiegelt genau das meiner Meinung nach auch unsere heutige Gesellschaft gut wieder. Denn mentale "Schwächen" werden auch heute noch viel zu wenig ernst genommen und belächelt... Charlotte Perkins Gilman hat das damals schon erkannt und durch eigene Erfahrungen motiviert diese Geschichte geschrieben und damit tatsächlich ein kleines Stück weit in die richtige Richtung ausrichten können, wie sie selbst im Anhang der Geschichte erzählt.
"Die gelbe Tapete" empfand ich als unheimlich atmosphärisch und prägnant in den Details, die mehr und mehr beklemmender zu werden scheinen. Nicht nur für die junge Frau, auch für mich als Leser wurde die Tapete ein Stück weit lebendig.
Für mich persönlich zeigt diese Kurzgeschichte sehr eindrucksvoll, wie man trotz weniger Seiten ganz viel und vor allem eindringlich erzählen kann! Auf "Herland" bin ich nun noch gespannter!

[rikaaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible, but I can confidently say without research that this is the basis for white feminism

[Eule und Buch · Rating 4 out of 5]

In dieser Kollektion sind zwei Werke der amerikanischen Frauenrechtlerin Charlotte Perkins Gilman zusammengefasst. „Die gelbe Tapete“ ist eine Kurzgeschichte, in der von den Folgen von der Praxis der strikten Schonung berichtet wurde, die häufig für Frauen angeordnet wurde und bei der diese tagelang nichts tun durften, als im Bett zu liegen.
„Herland“ dagegen ist eine Novelle, in welcher drei junge Männer ein Land finden, in welchem nur Frauen leben. Dabei müssen sie sich ihren eigenen Vorurteilen stellen und so einiges überdenken.
Die beiden Geschichten wurden zum ersten Mal 1892 und 1915 veröffentlicht. Charlotte Perkins Gilman war amerikanische Frauenrechtlerin, was stark in beiden Geschichten mitschwingt. Während „Die gelbe Tapete“ eine Kritik an einer ärztlichen Behandlungsmethode war, welche vielen Frauen mehr schadete, als ihnen zu helfen, zeigt „Herland“ ihre Meinung zum damals vertretenen Frauen- und Männerbild.
Gerade bei „Herland“ habe ich vor allem zu Beginn gemerkt, dass sich viele der Ansichten aus heutiger Sicht gesehen nicht besonders gut gehalten haben. Das soll natürlich keine Kritik an der Geschichte darstellen, immerhin hatte die Autorin eine völlig andere Sozialisation zu ihrer Zeit. Dennoch ist mir beim Lesen immer wieder aufgefallen, dass es zwar viele Punkte gab, die damals sicher revolutionär waren und auch heute noch interessant zu lesen sind, aber eben genauso welche, die man heutzutage als „white feminism“ bezeichnen würde.
Als Blick in diese Zeit und auf den Feminismus eben dieser Zeit hat mir das Buch aber wirklich sehr gut gefallen! Ich habe nebenbei so viel über gesellschaftliche Normen von damals gelernt. Da in „Herland“ drei Männer in diese völlig andere Gesellschaft kommen, gibt es immer wieder Situationen, in welchen sie erklären, wie ihre eigene Gesellschaft funktioniert. Dies zu lesen hat mich sehr fasziniert.
Was ich jedoch tatsächlich an „Herland“ kritisieren möchte, ist die Tatsache, dass kaum ein Spannungsbogen vorhanden ist. Es geht im Buch mehr um die Beschreibung dieser Gesellschaft und auch wenn das interessant ist, hätte ich mir gewünscht, dass die tatsächliche Handlung dabei nicht so untergegangen wäre. Es gibt etwa eine Art Liebesgeschichte, wenn man es denn so nennen kann, die jedoch nur sehr zusammengefasst beschrieben wird, obwohl sie im letzten Drittel eigentlich der Fokus der Geschichte ist.
Zudem hat mich der Unterschied von dem, was gesagt und gezeigt wurde, teilweise sehr irritiert. Oft wurden Aussagen getroffen, die vom Text aber nicht gestützt wurden. Etwa wurde gesagt, dass die Gesellschaft der Frauen einen sehr großen Wert auf Unterschiede zwischen den Kindern und dadurch auf Individualität legen würde. Was wir aber zu sehen bekamen, ist eine stark homogene Gesellschaft, in welcher es für die Charaktere schwer ist, von sich als Individuum ohne die Bedürfnisse der Gesellschaft zu denken.
Diese Kritikpunkte beziehen sich aber alle rein auf „Herland“. „Die gelbe Tapete“ dagegen war eine wirklich großartige und erschreckende Kurzgeschichte, welche Gemeinsamkeiten mit Gothic Horror Geschichten hatte. Ich kann diese wirklich nur weiterempfehlen!
Fazit:
Diese Kollektion zweier feministischer Geschichten kann ich als Blick in diese Zeit nur wärmstens empfehlen. Während „Die gelbe Tapete“ eine erschreckende Kurzgeschichte ist, bietet „Herland“ eine interessante Utopie, welche zwar einen besseren Spannungsbogen gebrauchen könnte, die aber dennoch interessante Einblicke in die Gesellschaft des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts bietet.

[Carol Chiovatto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu nunca tinha lido uma utopia tão utópica. Amei a experiência!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

four stars for the yellow wallpaper and three for herland

[magali she|her]

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is great, but Herland was a little painful to read after a while. I skipped chapters 10 and 11 to finish this a little faster.

[alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

i already rated the yellow wallpaper (definite 5 star read) but herland was just not as impressive literarily ??? idk

[Johan Malmgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yellow wallpaper 5/5

Herland: 2/5

[Joey Cordova · Rating 4 out of 5]

this short story just makes me long for a place like herland. it makes you feel so safe in this land. also terry is the worst, the narrator is aight, and jeff is the best

[Uvrón]

5 stars for the yellow wallpaper, excellent feminist horror with lots of relevance today.

I dunno, 3ish stars for Herland, opens up some interesting topics but these poisonous ideas of ‘civilization’ (white, sexless, technological, morally controlled, uniform, proper) need to be thrown away and until they are I can’t read stuff from that perspective with any kind of open mind (whether it’s from 1915 or 2025).

[Jersy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Yellow Wallpaper is poweful and haunting, Herland, however, has interesting ideas but I'm a little tired of books that are just about a traveler in a strange place being told about the place and if there is anything other to the plot, it's a subtle love story. If you are more ready for a book that is just the author's idea of an utopia, I think this offers a pretty unique take, has compelling writing and interesting enough characters. I found it fascinating that Charlotte Perkins Gilman places so much value on motherhood in a world were a woman can be anything. It's certainly not my utopia, but CPG commits to her idea and offers points worth discussing. It's a really good version of what it is.

[Claudia Bailey]

not rating because i have such different thoughts about the two stories,,

i’d give the yellow wallpaper a 4/5, it was rlly interesting and resonated w me. the ending wasn’t what i expected but i still rlly enjoyed it!!

i’d give herland like a 1.5-2/5. it just dragged and wasn’t super interesting. i get what the author was going for, but it could’ve been a quarter of the length and still got the same point across.

[Lexi · Rating 2 out of 5]

oh my goodness. Read this on a plane to England. Talk about dystopic utopias!

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Yellow Wallpaper is one of the best short stories ever written. There is so much crammed into just 20 pages. I could read it every week and still have a different take away each time ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
But Herland… Talk about a story that has NOT aged well. I get what she was trying to say but it was just so terrible. Do yourselves a favour and never read this if you can help it ⭐️

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doble lectura en esta edición portuguesa que reúne el célebre breve relato (relectura) y una pequeña utopía de tres hombres que llegan a una isla donde sólo hay mujeres.
Una pionera de la literatura feminista.

[Griet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Als ik ooit nog eens me echt verveel, schrijf ik een 10.000 woorden essay over hoe dit boek eerste golf feminisme belichaamt en waarom dit zo storend is voor een contemporary reader. Maar niet vandaag. Geen aanrader.

[sophia maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/5 the yellow wallpaper - exactly.
2.5/5 Herland - became very predictable about halfway, I believe the same message could’ve been portrayed in the same, rather radical way but in less as many pages and perhaps with slightly more Oomph idk - but still probably a more ethereal utopia than barbieland
Thank you sadie

[Lauren Lees · Rating 5 out of 5]

The yellow wallpaper was incredible, can’t believe I’ve not read it before, can’t believe they didn’t show me this in school as it seems perfect for the curriculum. Loved it.

[Nenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Papel de Parede Amarelo: 4.75/5.00 (★★★★¾☆)
A Terra Delas: 4.25/5.00 (★★★★¼☆)

[Jule · Rating 2 out of 5]

Herland verdient meine erste Rezension, da ich es nicht einfach mit einer 2 Sterne-Bewertung hier stehen lassen kann.
Herland ist eins dieser Bücher, das ich nicht aufgrund seines literarischen Wertes zu Ende gelesen habe, sondern aufgrund seines historischen Stellenwerts. Ich war sehr dankbar über das Vorwort von Lindy West in dieser Ausgabe, sie stellt Herlands Stärken und Schwächen deutlich gegenüber und ja, Schwächen hat es einige.

Ich habe Herland gelesen, weil ich mich viel und gerne mit feministischer Literatur beschäftige. Herland allerdings lässt sich meiner Meinung nach nur unter Einbeziehung seiner Entstehungszeit (1915) als solche bezeichnen. Man sollte sich während des Lesens immer wieder daran erinnern "1915, dieses Buch wurde 1915 geschrieben, von einer weißen Frau, 1915", andernfalls werden einen einige Meinungen und "feministische" Ansätze überaus wütend machen.
Es ist mit Sicherheit spannend, sich mit Perkins Gilmans Auslegung von Feminismus auseinanderzusetzen, besonders in Bezug auf die Unterdrückung und Umstände der Frau Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts, als rein literarisches Werk allerdings halte ich Herland für nicht lesenswert. Perkins Gilman legt mehr Wert auf die Konzeption ihres utopischen, ausschließlich von Frauen bewohnten Staats, in dem es keine Gewalt, kein Verbrechen, keinen Hass und keine Hunde gibt, als auf eine spannende Charaktergestaltung und -Entwicklung.

Herland hat mich wütend und traurig gemacht. Einige der hier behandelten misogynen und rassistischen Meinungen sind heute noch so aktuell wie 1915. Wenn nicht noch mehr.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: this review only refers to The Yellow Wallpaper.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a masterful work that delves into the depths of human psyche, leaving a profound impact in its wake. Despite its brevity, the story manages to capture an immense sense of meaning. Drawing inspiration from the gothic genre, it skillfully portrays a gradual descent into madness while simultaneously transcending conventional boundaries, evolving into a powerful societal critique. Gilman deftly sheds light on the oppressive role of women within a patriarchal society, where their needs are often dismissed or ignored.

By employing the symbol of the wallpaper, Gilman magnifies the flaws and ugliness inherent in this societal structure. The wallpaper takes on a multifaceted significance, representing not only the confining and stifling nature of the narrator's environment, but also the intricate web of societal expectations and restrictions that entangle women. As the story progresses, the wallpaper becomes a metaphorical mirror, reflecting the entrapment and suppression that women endure, ultimately culminating in a haunting depiction of the repercussions of such subjugation.

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 4 out of 5]

While The Yellow Wallpaper is short and in a terrifying simplicity realistic, Herland has a much slower pace, includes what I might call fantasy elements and more than a story it really stands as a thinking commentary on society (arguably we could find flaws in the Gilman´s female Utopia, but then again she does not really claim that Herland is paradise and the women there clearly accept changes and are open to new ideas). Interestingly, it was originally published in the 1910s, but the attitude of the men in the story (looking at you especially, Terry) could be copied from the men today. I was a bit disappointed by the abrupt ending, which definitely left me wondering about what happened next. Both of these works still have merit as feminist classics.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d very much like to live in a country like Herland. It all sounds quite beautiful and thought through that I hope it would be real.

I find it quite astonishing to find such great novel to be written in 1915 and having all the critical elements that can be applied on our world today as well. I fear it will never get old and will always be accurate as long as there are humans with the history of ours.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Herland:
Getting to Herland was the more interesting part. Once they were there though, it was like reading a really dry non-fiction account of events. Interesting premise which for me didn’t deliver.
Not sure if I’ll go back to The Yellow Wallpaper based on the above.

[ciel · Rating 4 out of 5]

madness in yellow + a female 'republic'

[Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yellow Wallpaper is amazing and horrifying, of course. Herland was interesting, but it really didn’t feel like it went anywhere as a story or like it landed on any particular argument.

[ashes ➷ · Rating 1 out of 5]

everyone should read gothhabiba's discussion of the yellow wallpaper as eugenicist narrative on tumblr

The introduction to this book is so crazy I have to talk about it, so here's me using the GR review box to rant about the introduction to these two stories by a eugenicist feminist writer. To clarify, I mean that the stories are by a eugenicist feminist, not the introduction, though it took me about five seconds to clock the way she talked about gender to Google her and guess what? Lucy Mangan is a TERF. From the tell-tale lines in her reviews (literally Google her name and "trans") to the fact that she follows exclusively TERFs and no trans people (remember when people pointed this out about Rowling?) on Twitter, it's obvious. So that's disappointing, obviously, and based on that alone I'm DNFing. Don't bother with this one.

Anyway, on to mocking this woman's idiotic scribblings-- and if you think I'm being mean, buckle up, because idiocy is the best possible light in which to view the fact that a human being wrote this crap.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman formed a passionate attachment to a woman named Martha Luther, but reluctantly surrendered to societal pressures to marry the artist Charles Walter Stetson in 1884. Domesticity and then motherhood either triggered or aggravated a latent depressive tendency.

Imagine thinking of yourself as some shit like a "sex realist" and uncritically writing this out. Ah yes, a presumed psychologically normal woman (with no "latent depressive tendency") would surely have been totally cool and not sad about being forced to give up lesbianism to marry a man and birth his children; it's only some presumed secret psychological weakness on the part of this woman that made her so, implicitly, unreasonably depressed. This is awesome and super feminist.

(In the introduction to THE YELLOW WALLPAPER! Hello! Holy shit lack of awareness.)

Naturally our resident TERF critic also needs to laud bioessentialist assumptions about what it means to be a woman or "female" or a producer of the large gametes or whatever it is they're saying now:

Perkins Gilman’s organizing idea for her story is one she held deeply and which informed her activism, lectures and non-fiction work, which is, in essence, that if women ran the world as they ran (or at the very least were expected to run) their homes, a much better one would result. The maternal instinct (‘their great Mother Spirit’ in the book) especially, she reasoned, would be an even mightier force for good if expanded beyond the merely domestic sphere. A society built around self-sacrifice, serving others, flexibility and a flat instead of hierarchical structure – a society, in short, of all givers, no takers . . . Well. I mean. You can see how it might work, can’t you? It’s a form of socialism, self-evidently, but one in which the female experience is central.

This is already stupidly credulous, but check out how this literary genius praises the work of, again, an acknowledged eugenicist!

All that said, what abides after reading Herland is the deep, deep sense of peace it conveys, arising both from its depiction of a pacifist settlement but almost more so from the simple notion of living wholly amongst one’s own kind. ... Imagine, Perkins Gilman invites the reader of Herland, not being the half of a population living according to the other half’s rules. Imagine not being a half at all. You are the whole. The alpha and omega. Whatever exists, tangible or intangible, is best designed to fit you, literally or metaphorically. Imagine.

It will shock no one to discover Mangan writes for the Guardian.

Usually I'd be nicer but I feel no need to be nice about someone who was both-sidesing trans rights a decade ago and is now one-sidesing it with the transmisogynists while trans women are murdered in the streets, taking brief intermissions to laud (and launder) eugenicist ideology. Fuck this woman's writing. Cringe! On to the next book. If I want to read Herland, I'll read it in an addition that doesn't come with pigswill in front, and do my own thinking on the eugenicist outlook, thank you very much.