The Yellow Wallpaper

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature, due to its illustration of the attitudes towards mental and physical health of women in the 19th century.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Classics, School, Feminism, Mental Health

36 pages, Paperback

Published August 2, 2020

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

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no proof but the husband was cheating.

[entela · Rating 3 out of 5]

another example of how men are the cause of all problems

[Beth Pletzke · Rating 3 out of 5]

women just don’t creep like they used to

[Grace]

Shoutout to my high school english teacher for having all the southern men read this short story in our senior lit class, hope they learned something.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This man deserves prison

[Elise K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I think its' one of those where you can read it again and understand it more and more, and you notice new details in the book that you hadn't noticed before. For such a short story it was amazing and so ahead of its time. I loved the ending it was so weird and ominous and when she said that she was the woman in the wallpaper I was bewildered. I liked that aswell because she kept describing the woman in the wallpaper as if she was 'trapped' so once she ripped it down, Jane (the protagonist) also felt freed from her rest cure due to her 'hysteria' even though she clearly had declined in her mental state and was clearly even more unwell. It was so interesting to read from a modern perspective as it shows the problems with different methods of treatment at that point that seem so absurd to readers now but were normal just over 100 years ago. It makes you think what could be seen as morally wrong that doctors do now that we see as perfectly fine. I also loved how John fainted at the end (due to shock from Jane ripping the wallpaper down) and how Jane crawls onto him and around him every time she did a lap around the room. Anyways I could waffle for days about this book but I'm not going to because I have nothing substantial to say it's just waffle.

[Abbie Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being an English major, I had heard of The Yellow Wallpaper without ever having to read it. I knew the main points, but I did not expect to feel so, so sad for the protagonist. It is a short, mighty read, and I can see why it is a classic, and eager to never be forgotten.

[ViZz · Rating 4 out of 5]

ahh the typical case of women’s concerns about their own health being dismissed.

[ayushi♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

yall will do anything to not let a woman speak

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

“cry at nothing, and cry most of the time.”

“You think you have mastered it, but just as you get well underway in following, it turns a back-somersault and there you are. It slaps you in the face, knocks you down, and tramples upon you. It is like a bad dream.”

“This was not life, this was a nightmare.”

“Now why should that man have fainted? But he did,and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!”

[Alexia Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Wallpaper
at first I thought it maybe her subconscious, but as she's "free", I realize it may be societal expectations evergrowing as her postpartum depression is going untreated and she faces so much pressure within isolation.
She tears it down and reclames freedom, frewill, agency. But Jonn suffers with this awakening.
The women in the wallpaper are all freed, They were confined behind bars and confined by gender roles, even domestic oppression.
• John
why can't he just hear her?! He is a legend at gaslighting. She deteriorates progressively as he rewards her for obedience. He takes her to some summer chateau with awful vibes, and why is all the furniture nailed down? Reminds me of an asylum, she was truly trapped and tormented by John.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely Poe-like: creeping dread, unreliable narrator and claustrophobic descend into madness. Reminded me a lot of The tell-tale Heart & The Fall Of the House of Usher.
Beneath the gothic horror there’s a sharp critique of female oppression, gaslighting, and the way women’s voices are oppressed under the guise of “care”.
Well, the narrator is trapped both mentally & physically, not just in a room but in a world where even her feelings and autonomy are constantly dismissed and denied.

It’s eerie, unsettling and unfortunately, -to an extend- relatable to many women’s experiences.

One last thought: could fungi (which are mentioned when she describes the wallpaper) have played a role in her state ?

[Christian Tackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I got so angry I bit off a little piece at one corner-but it hurt my teeth.”. We love to see it!

[Raghad ElBashir · Rating 4 out of 5]

very compelling feminist short story that mixes the supernatural with symbolism of women’s oppression and liberation in society. reminds me of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, especially with the elements of prescribed rest to ‘hysteria’ (a common affliction that women were labeled with) that ultimately resulted in them being even more ostracized and alienated from society and result in their health (both mental and physical) to decline. later, Gilman writes that the story “was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked.” Gilman, having experienced her own nervous breakdowns and subsequent unsuitable prescriptions of ‘rest trips’, understood how alienating it was for women to be in these country homes for months on end without being around society and being able to express themselves by writing. She wrote this story to show women, and their doctors, that there was nothing wrong with them truly and that they knew themselves and what they needed best. She rejects both the alienation these women faced but also the men (and broader patriarchal system) that sought to subdue women and control their lives, assuming they knew better what these women were feeling.

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short but compelling story about a woman's decline of her mental health, with no regard or care for her. She is clearly asking for help - her husband who also doubles as a Physician brushes her worries off and dismisses her (sounds familiar in terms of medical professionals even in today's world) - BIG EYE ROLL!!! Typical of a man brushing off a woman and her worries, typical of the medical system not taking women seriously!

Not sure if this was a depiction of Postpartum Depression and loneliness but it was definitely suggestive of both! A very telling tale that's apt for its time of writing and will forever be the tale of all women to exist!

[Jessie Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have chosen an annotated version as the copy I read was borrowed from and annotated by my bestie !!! So charming to read what she was thinking and remember the coursework we were both doing. I miss my friends sixth form was so fun!! Anyway nice spooky read to kick off autumn. It’s officially Halloween in my mind so the spooky reads (this might be all) and scary films commence as of now. There’s a chill in the air!

[Gayathri Shankar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love and love! 21 pages of pure impact. That’s what good writers do. This is a short story that women need to be reading and still is so relevant.

I wish more women would write like this. (This is me coming in hot after reading A very smutty Ali Hazelwood)

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman’s descent into madness- and the attitudes towards mental health in late 1800s - story published in 1892.

[ceyda · Rating 3 out of 5]

fuck that husband

[smileymakaveli · Rating 3 out of 5]

audiobook of choice for road-trip post family vacation.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first when I finished this story, I was not sure how I felt. I did some research and pondered my thoughts for a few days. I think the biggest thing I got out of it was the wallpaper symbolizing society and oppressive systems. The MC mentions that the wallpaper is chaotic in pattern and there’s hardly any consistency, this reminds me of society and the fact that there are several things about the world that do not make sense and they are never going to. I find myself ruminating often. This book gives me the lesson that sometimes things are never going to make sense, because there is no real logic in oppressive systems and not to waste energy trying to figure things like that out. The Yellow Wallpaper is one of those stories that needs to be read more than once to pull more out of it each time. I appreciate it for what it is. It goes to show how bad societal systems can affect a person’s mental health.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Torn on my opinions of this short story. It clearly depicts postpartum depression / anxiety, and how in times past it was dismissed. Women were essentially locked in rooms away from people, told to rest and interact with no one — which of course made it much worse. This story brilliantly depicts mental illness and how it becomes so much worse if it is not treated appropriately. But as such, it’s also heartbreaking to watch the deterioration of this woman’s health.

5 stars for writing skills and approaching such a taboo topic (especially for its time!!!)…but also it is not even remotely “relaxing” or “enjoyable” IMO. So overall, 4 stars.

This short story is approx. 10 pages long and easy to find online through legit websites such as Project Gutenberg or government archives. Definitely worth reading as an adult, but sometimes I wonder if such harsh topics are introduced much too early to school aged kids? Not sure if I will include it in my high school course or not…….

[Loralai · Rating 2 out of 5]

A telling story of how isolation further worsens mental illness & postpartum depression. The narrator’s pace changes with the digression of her mental health. Seemingly plain and boring at first, but quickly turns complicated and puzzling. It is an incredibly sad read to see how mental health is completely disregarded, especially during the 19th century. There are parallels to the world we now live in, including the power of the patriarchy and the distrust of doctors in their patients.

With my own interpretation, it seems as though the narrator dies by suicide with the rope she has hidden in her room. Her husband faints when he sees her crawling around because she is dead and is now within the wallpaper.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad and tragic book about postpartum psychosis and how woman’s health in general is often ignored or glossed over and not taken seriously.
This was written in a time when the cure for postpartum was the “rest” cure. Woman were kept in a room unable to leave bed or interact with anyone for months until she is cured, but we now know this is actually opposite of what should be done and it would often cause a complete mental break.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah yes, dismissing women's health concerns as she slowly descends into madness. Classic.

[Hippiejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly unsettling book for one so short.

It's interesting that this book is considered to be an important work for the feminist as I more saw it as an important insight into lack of understanding of mental health which I know was as poor to men struggling as women back then.

I do understand that this book is definitely highlighting the power of the man/husband over his wife though regardless. Her thoughts and wishes often dismissed with every man surrounding her knowing what's best for her. Interestingly, the author makes a point of telling us she has recently had a child which with hindsight, is certainly an indication of post natal depression. It seemed to me that however misguided, her husband did seem to care for his wife. That she was kept at home during a time when many would have been locked up in institutions and forgotten about was surely a minor saving grace?

While there is still a way to go, I am so grateful that our understanding and treatment of people struggling with poor mental health is so much better now.

I found reading the way our narrators mental health declined as she became hyper-fixated on the yellow wallpaper was really creepy and was written really well.

Such a good book and way ahead of it's time.

4/5

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not expect to find what I did here. Something about this story really shook me. The darkest and most deeply disturbing aspects of social behaviors towards other people don't have to be the grotesque violence you might first think of. Sometimes, it is bottomless despair brought on by psychological torment.

Gilman illustrates with clarity and truth the matter of women's treatment at the hands of the medical field in the past. Her own experience bleeds through here, knowing that she herself had been diagnosed with postnatal depression and thus told to stay in bed, forbidden from any reading, writing, or painting. Gilman believes she would have gone mad, and it is clear that anyone with any sort of mental struggles, woman or man alike, would have lost themselves as well.

The dread that fills me when I think of being trapped by my loved ones for what they deem 'my own good' is immense and makes me anxious to imagine. What if I was driven mad, just like the narrator was, because her own husband and friend locked her in a bedroom for 3 months to 'sleep' and do nothing, separated from her own child? Chilling.

It is completely compelling, revealing of the past, and definitely horrifying.

Solidly good.
3.25 stars!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I’m reviewing a short story and counting it in my total books read for the year. I KNOW, HOW INSUFFERABLE! Even worse, I’ve read this story several times. I do have an English degree, so…

This story focuses on a woman suffering from a postpartum depression episode who is given the “rest cure” as treatment. She moves with her husband into a creepy old house and is shut up in a room she hates in order for her to just be in bed 24/7 with zero stimulation. She isn’t even allowed to visit with her new baby. Is it any wonder she starts to see some weird stuff in the old yellow wallpaper in that room?

I love the writing in this story. The first-person pov gives it an urgency and clarity you sometimes don’t see in other stories from this time period (it was published in a magazine in 1892). You can just feel the madness creeping in. Required feminist reading.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in LOVE with this short story. Had to read it for school but i ended up doing a ton more analysis than asked and that's when it really hit me on a deeper level. Please if you read this and liked it or found it just okay, i so recommend re-reading it and really thinking about each paragraph and taking notes because there is so much to read into and discover. I know i sound like your annoying middle school english teacher reading way too much into the most mundane lines. But it IS that deep.

So at least if you're interested in exercising your analysis and critical reading skills, i feel like this is such a great one to start on. And if you aren't and you just wanna read for fun, then i still totally recommend it! It's also just a really cool surface-level plot about mental illness and spiralling into insanity

[khon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style isn't really my cup of tea, but it's still at a level where I can enjoy it. The way it's written is quite funny, to be honest. What I love about this book is how the writer tells us about the conditions she had to face and succeeds in making us feel the same things as her—like as the day goes by in the story, I found the wallpaper that she told us about starts to get more horrified even more. This book almost perfectly depicts how hard it is to face mental problems, especially for women in that era. It's a good read to broaden our perspective on the advancements in the psychological patient's healing methods nowadays.