The Yellow Wallpaper: Including the Article 'Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper'

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

This early work by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was originally published in 1899. Born in Hartford, Conn....

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Horror, Gothic, Feminism, Mental Health, American

30 pages, Paperback

Published August 7, 2012

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

[Rosemarie Björnsdottir Jørgensen]

Gothic, eerie, haunting, hypnotising, frustrating, scary and so sad. One of my favourite stories

Highly recommend the audiobook read by Beata Poźniak

[˗ˏˋ nat ˊˎ˗]

i thought this would be a ghost story, but turns out the scariest thing out there is medical gaslighting.

[clumsyplankton]

This was a re read but I really enjoyed this edition especially with the background as to why this book was written.

[T. Sendi]

Re-read for my “The Rise of the Gothic” class

Unlike gothic fiction where terror comes from the supernatural, Gilman’s the yellow wallpaper shows us a type of haunting that comes from within. In this case, from the narrator’s mind.

There is no sense of agency, and perhaps that is the cause of the narrator’s own ghost.
I see the shadow on the wallpaper as some sort of reflection of the narrator. There is this part where she was protective over the interpretation of the wallpaper:

“I caught Jennie with her hand on it once. She didn't know I was in the room, and when I asked her in a quiet, a very quiet voice, with the most restrained manner possible, what she was doing with the paper—she turned around as if she had been caught stealing, and looked quite angry—asked me why I should frighten her so! Then she said that the paper stained everything it touched, that she had found yellow smooches on all my clothes and John's, and she wished we would be more careful! Did not that sound innocent? But I know she was studying that pattern, and I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself!”

And I feel like this could reflect the wrong evaluation of her illness. She seemed fine in the beginning, just a woman who is anxious perhaps— isolated and treated wrong, she does grow mad as the story progress. I feel like she was trying to claim her agency by claiming the mystery of the wallpaper as her own to solve.

In addition, we learn this from “why I wrote the yellow wallpaper”:

“I was told that the great specialist had admitted to friends of his that he had altered his treatment of neurasthenia since reading The Yellow Wallpaper.”

It is truly fascinating to know that it took this story to change a real medical practice.

[Ioan]

Never been much of a short story person. Also, this isn't a book to "enjoy". But I liked it. What was being said without being explicitly stated was a lot. Stuff was left up to interpretation without leaving all of it up to interpretation, as I feel many short stories do- and they end up just being a bit unclear.
At the beginning the narrator seems to be depressed and at the end insane and the point she becomes insane is unclear. It is well written and everything seems deliberate.

[Ine Elena]

dear john… kill yourself

[Kirsten Hamilton]

Truly haunting, and superbly written. “The sprawling outlines run off in great slanting waves of optic horror”. I was particularly interested in this edition as the cover is described by the author as the closest depiction of how she imagined the wallpaper to look, and there is a fascinating appendix piece where she explains why she wrote the story, and the backlash she got for it. A very unsettling read that I am very pleased to have read!

[Marja]

Disturbing short story. It was well written psychological horror. I think I would have liked it to be a little longer.

[Emma]

Very good quality narration. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the author’s note at the end.

[paula]

unhinged

[Amos Lamb]

A testament to this story that in only 57 or so pages Gilman managed to create an entrancing and intelligent story about madness and womanhood. Without wanting to sound too much like a weeb I feel like the way the story is written and the flow of the pacing reminded me a lot of Junji Ito's work with the eventual reveal of our narrator manically pacing the room feeling like one of his doublespread reveals.

[ece ✿]

I support her breakdown and objections to the doctor’s orders. The doctor is that one typical man you come across in life, a lot actually. Even today. Even more. I wonder if this was her true intention though. Could she be hiding something else? What about the husband and his sister?

[Amber]

short story of women who has mental health problems but not one really believes in mental health. she is stay in an old nursery that has yellow wallpaper and she believes there is a women behind it. after ripping wallpaper out she feels better.

[Bia]

This story is a critique of how women were historically silenced under the guise of "medical care." Knowing the author drew from her own survival of that very treatment makes the narrative even more courageous and impactful.

[Lucy Forrest]

Well damn

[Rhiannon Williams]

A (very) short story originally published in a magazine. I can't say it really grabbed me in the 15 minutes or so it took to read. The "why I wrote it" section was the most interesting bit.

[Courtney]

American Literature II is a class that I am currently taking. During this class we are required to read novels, poems, and short stories that we might not have ever read otherwise. Some are good and some are bad; however, all are legendary and useful for the overall growth of literature everywhere.

[Sara]

Wow! Kan inte fatta att den här publicerades 1899. Jag kan tänka mig vilket ramaskri det blev med tanke på ämnet och att författaren vågade kommentera på hur kvinnor med mental ohälsa behandlades. Så bra!

[elsewhere]

I liked how the narration was kept simple yet very descriptive, too.

[Harley]

wish there was more!

[Morgan]

This was a re-read for me. I highly recommend this edition with an included explanation from the author on why she wrote it.

[Edysa Vazquez]

Reread this and loved it just as much, if not more than the first time.

[Nick]

oh yeah