Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Yellow Wallpaper

This one hit very close to home. It’s heartbreaking how universal some aspects of the female experience are.

After reading this story, I did a brief research and one of the things I’ve found is that it is based on something Perkins herself went through. So now I can think of three women of my acquaintance that know all too well the feeling of being unwell while the men in your life, the ones supposed to be on your side, attempt to gaslight you. These women in question are, of course, the author, my mother and myself.

How many more of us are trapped inside this wallpaper?

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melplays9000's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’d like to document this as the first ever classic that I have read of my own free will. I’ve always been worried that I’m to thick to understand the old english writing style but I was actually surprised that this book was not too difficult for me. I probably would have understood and liked it better has I been an english Lit major but I don’t believe I ever will be so maybe I should just enjoy classics how I can.

This was an absolute gem of a book. If it was just horror fiction it would still have been incredibly successful but I think that knowing that this story is partially true makes it so much creepier. I love how we are completely in the mind of the main character so what she says makes perfect scene and she seems perfectly stable until at one moment it just clicks and you realize that she is not.

It is an incredibly short book but has great vibes would definitely recommend. 4.5 stars.

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lovisaclaesson's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THANK YOU my 10th grade English teacher for making me read this

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lexarobinson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

An interesting read, but just too much subliminal racism and sexism for me to assert that I liked it. The relationship between the central couple is extremely strange, alongside the fact Gilman never detaches herself from her central female figure: the narrative comes across as imposed on, just as the wallpaper gradually imposes on the narrator. A little convoluted, but not wholly unenjoyable.

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