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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
A short story critiquing how poorly the health system caters to women, particularly in the late 1800s. A woman was made to do nothing but lay about all day for months on end, no reading or writing or socializing, and finds herself going mad. More than she had been before being prescribed bed rest. Breaking free from her husband (her captor) and crawling over him, showing how power has been subverted in the end.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
With treatment of mental illness and men's insistence that they know what's best for women, "The Yellow Wallpaper" is disturbingly relevant to modern audiences.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
sad
dark
medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A classic I felt I needed to catch up on and it was worth it. This is an affecting and thought-provoking story that explores themes of mental health and societal expectations. The writing style is simple but exactly for that it is vivid and immersive, drawing you into the narrator’s experience and emotions. Even though it’s a short read and considering the time it was written it is advanced in how it raises important questions on the treatment of women. It’s a classic for a reason: powerful, unsettling, and definitely worth reading.
dark
emotional
sad
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
This story is proof that women's health concerns were and are never taken seriously. It's sad that even after so many years, the state of the society remains the same. Women's mental health concerns are shunned and society takes that as an excuse to stop her doing the things she loves the most. Anyone being subjected to that would indeed suffer...but society sees this as suffering as tantrums and further justifies itself.
On top of all this, what the book observes about medical professionals (the brother and husband) is spot-on and still rings true after so many years - that for a person with mental health issues, more often than not, the doctors and the family are definitely not on the "patients' side". It used to be and still is a lonely battle against the world.
Especially for women, whose health concerns are dismissed by dumb statements like 'are you close to your period? Maybe it's because of that..it will get better on its own.' I can't recall the number of times I have been told the same during my past visits to the psychiatrist.
On top of all this, what the book observes about medical professionals (the brother and husband) is spot-on and still rings true after so many years - that for a person with mental health issues, more often than not, the doctors and the family are definitely not on the "patients' side". It used to be and still is a lonely battle against the world.
Especially for women, whose health concerns are dismissed by dumb statements like 'are you close to your period? Maybe it's because of that..it will get better on its own.' I can't recall the number of times I have been told the same during my past visits to the psychiatrist.