The Yellow Wallpaper
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4.2 • 928 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Best known for the 1892 title story of this collection, a harrowing tale of a woman's descent into madness, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote more than 200 other short stories. Seven of her finest are reprinted here.
Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "Turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a husband seduces and impregnates a naïve servant; "Cottagette," concerning the romance of a young artist and a man who's apparently too good to be true; "Mr. Peebles' Heart," a liberating tale of a fiftyish shopkeeper whose sister-in-law, a doctor, persuades him to take a solo trip to Europe, with revivifying results; "The Yellow Wallpaper"; and three other outstanding stories.
These charming tales are not only highly readable and full of humor and invention, but also offer ample food for thought about the social, economic, and personal relationship of men and women — and how they might be improved.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Yuen leads listeners convincingly through this beautifully wrought 1892 short story. She begins the first-person narrative with the voice of a sensible if somewhat distraught young woman confined by her doctor husband to an attic room with hideous yellow wallpaper and bars on the windows. She is thought to have a nervous condition and is permitted no activity, including writing, lest it tire her. Eschewing melodrama, Yuen gradually changes tone and inflection as the weeks pass and the wife starts tearing down the wallpaper, perceives another woman behind it trying to get out, and finally descends into madness. It's a short, intoxicating listen that merits more than one replay.
Customer Reviews
Mind-boggling, frankly
The most astounding part of this whole story is how subtle the woman’s descent into madness is, how Gilman uses an unreliable narrator to force the reader to question what events are true and which are not. I had a lovely time, possibly one of the best short reads I’ve had the pleasure of embarking upon.
HIGH 3
The narrator's decent into psychosis is done perfectly. I love how you slowly see them lose their bearings more and more and more. The character's focus on the yellow wallpaper was such a cool and interesting way to contrast and depict her mental health deteriorating.
I really enjoyed this short book. I had no idea that resting was used as a medical treatment for mental illnesses. Very easy to see how this had the reverse effect for a variety of mental disorders.
Jane's Echoes
Really liked this book, her story kind of reminded me of Jane Eyre's tale in some ways . I think this story highlights how women can loose themselves in their drive to please the patriarchy, but also how in control it is. Great read though ...