The Yellow Wallpaper
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4.3 • 600 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
Interesting
As a recommendation from a friend, this short story did not disappoint! I love the message and language used. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy stories with female protagonists that focus on the human condition.
An Excellent Representation of the Detriment of the Rest Cure
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman offers a haunting critique of historical treatment methods for women’s mental health, particularly the oppressive “rest cure.” This vivid story follows a woman prescribed isolation and inactivity to “recover” from postpartum depression—measures that ultimately drive her deeper into psychosis. Through her growing obsession with the patterns in her wallpaper, Gilman illustrates how enforced isolation worsens mental illness and reveals the devastating effects of medical practices grounded in patriarchal control rather than compassionate care. As relevant now as it was in Gilman’s time, this story highlights the critical need for holistic, inclusive approaches to mental health.
the yellow wallpaper
OH MY…