Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - The Yellow Wallpaper

Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Dale M. Bauer

176 reviews

thegreatbigben's review against another edition

4.25

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

3ternallymoon's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

lianneponferrada's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

“It is the same woman, I know, for she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight.” - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Jane, diagnosed with a nervous ailment, is prescribed intensive rest. Her husband, John, is a successful doctor and insists that they go on a brief holiday at an antiquated house to restore her health. Forbidden to leave, stricken with inconsolable loneliness, and subjected to John’s condescension, it is no surprise that her mental state deteriorates, manifesting as an ominous woman hiding behind the wallpaper… The scent of female rage emanates from Gilman’s seminal text, The Yellow Wallpaper (1892), as it delves into the deeply psychological consequences of patriarchal control.

Striking an impressive balance between overt messaging and subtlety, this book lingered on my mind for several days. The intimate first-person, almost diary-like narrative plants the seeds for an intense psychological exploration. Paired with a rather complacent tone, Gilman soundly conveys the emotional numbness and despair that clinical depression inflicts on its sufferers. The juxtaposition between this tone and the disturbing images (e.g. viscerally unpleasant descriptions of the yellow wallpaper and the way she slowly constructs the hallucination of the menacing woman behind said wallpaper) creates an unsettling form of madness, which comes to a convincing climax when Jane

violently tears the wallpaper.

The story comes to a seething, but subtle end as she finds nothing there.

Treating Jane like an incompetent child, John is compellingly illustrated. He treats Jane with a great deal of tenderness, but can hardly hide his controlling tendencies, frequently denying her pleas for external contact and forcing her to stay in a rotting nursery. Meanwhile, he spends entire days working away from home. His dialogue is sickly sweet. As a result, Jane can hardly rebuke him despite his overtly patriarchal intentions, constructing another layer of frustration. This creates a powerful Gothic tale as Gilman hones in on all three types of entrapment: existential through her role as mother, physical through the isolated home, and emotional through her diminishing mental state. This culminates in creating a suffocating reading experience. Another notable character includes John’s sister, Jennie, an emblem of domesticated femininity. At best, Jane envies her; at worst, she believes that Jennie is complicit in her entrapment. To a large degree, this is true as her mindless acceptance of her position in society firmly holds patriarchal “righteousness” in its place. Initially, notions of female rivalry appear anti-feminist. However, in Gilman’s case, it ensures profound realism, rendering the feminist messages more resonant. We mustn’t shame women for coincidentally abiding by patriarchal ideas, but we inevitably grow frustrated when they aren’t self-aware about their position in society. It is this lack of self-awareness that begins to hinder women. It is incredible that from a seemingly irrelevant character, so much social commentary can be made!

Conclusively, this is essential feminist reading. At nineteen pages long, it is essential rereading. I believe most of its impact derives from its minuscule length, as Gilman ensured a narrative profuse with symbolism through setting and character alike. Her effective use of Gothic features enriches the core feminist messages, as its subversive nature allows her to transgress regular social boundaries, serving as an intense cautionary tale against the inherent dismissal of women’s mental health.

Content Warnings

marithap's review against another edition

4.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Got me thinking I need to stay away from wallpaper because that would be me too

Content Warnings

laverna's review against another edition

4.25

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

lara_ayrolla's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

t0rixoxo's review against another edition

5.0

mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

for any woman who’s been dismissed about her medical concerns, this is for you

Content Warnings

sabertoothdeathmouse's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Content Warnings

rosa_lina96's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Remember reading this short story in school and not fully understanding it at the time, but going back and reading it as an adult--especially in today's political climate--kind of breathes new meaning into it. Lady with a controlling husband is forced to move to the countryside with him, and though you sense her chafing over his treatment of her even at the beginning of the narrative, it's not until the end where she truly surrenders to whatever mental illness has been following her (I want to guess that it's meant to be a kind of schizophrenia, but I don't think the narrative ever fully designates it as such, and honestly the ambiguity works better for the overall plot) and breaks free of the cruel way the men in her life have been treating her.

Kind of a feminine rage novel before that kind of thing was mainstream, to be honest. A good read that examines forced institutionalization (of a kind), the way women's health concerns have never really been taken seriously throughout history (main character is quite obviously suffering from postpartum depression and yet continues to have it swept under the rug), and how attempting to have full control over someone who has a mental illness can actually do more harm than good. Very much recommended.

Content Warnings

emmaalindsay's review against another edition

5.0

dark reflective fast-paced

Content Warnings

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