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A review by dylanhenning
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The fact that this story was published all the way back in 1892 is wild to me! I had read The Yellow Wallpaper years ago in middle school and I remember enjoying it and how unique it was at the time. Now that I’m older and able to understand deeper nuances I wanted to re-read it and see what I thought of it, I’m glad I did!
This short story is told from the first person perspective of a woman writing about her thoughts and experiences being confined to this room by her husband who says she has “temporary nervous depression”. He says she’s there to rest and get better and she’s not to write or do any work or go out to tire herself out further.
As she’s stuck in this room she writes in her diary first about her opinion of the room. She notes how much she hates the yellow wallpaper. As time goes on the woman sees shapes and faces and patterns in the wallpaper. She also starts describing the lengths that her husband has gone to to keep her in this room like bolting down the bed, bars on the windows, and a gate at the top of the stairs. All of which she says must have been there because of children who previously lived in the house.
This book is really fascinating. It’s clearly a piece of feminist literature that shows blatant gaslighting and manipulation by the husband. But we also see his efforts to keep her locked away have had a negative impact on her mental health.
If you haven’t read this yet you definitely should!
This short story is told from the first person perspective of a woman writing about her thoughts and experiences being confined to this room by her husband who says she has “temporary nervous depression”. He says she’s there to rest and get better and she’s not to write or do any work or go out to tire herself out further.
As she’s stuck in this room she writes in her diary first about her opinion of the room. She notes how much she hates the yellow wallpaper. As time goes on the woman sees shapes and faces and patterns in the wallpaper. She also starts describing the lengths that her husband has gone to to keep her in this room like bolting down the bed, bars on the windows, and a gate at the top of the stairs. All of which she says must have been there because of children who previously lived in the house.
This book is really fascinating. It’s clearly a piece of feminist literature that shows blatant gaslighting and manipulation by the husband. But we also see his efforts to keep her locked away have had a negative impact on her mental health.
If you haven’t read this yet you definitely should!