A review by mira_fitz
The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Gothic and romantic, and a very pointed discussion about mental illness and the quiet suffering of (married) women, I'm left feeling a little cheated having read Ethan Frome in lieu of this short story. Although the book is centered around the suffocation of a woman who suffers from postpartum depression (and then eventually, some form of psychosis), it feels oddly free to be able to read a woman's forbidden journal entries as she slowly devolves into a feral, dissociative being. The narrator's desperation, exhaustion, and obsession with the yellow wallpaper are captivating and palpable, while her frantic voice ebbs and flows as time goes on between her entries. There are very few pieces of fiction that give such a clear and honest depiction of depression and forced isolation, which was a common treatment for mental illness at the time of writing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who want a well-done internal monologue from an unreliable narrator who we as readers spectate on her slow descent into madness. 5/5 Stars.
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