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scrollingbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I only became aware of this short story a couple of weeks ago, and it's an eye-opener. Written in late 19th century the story recounts a woman recouperating in a room with yellow wallpaper.
"If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression."
But don't stop there because the important part is the undercurrent. It is a telling of how husbands (ie men) know best and that wives are frivolous hysterics who don't know their own minds.
"John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage."
You could say the antagonist in the piece is the yellow wallpaper, as it has a life of its own. The dastardly pattern doesn't repeat and the invalid (is her name ever revealed - I'm not sure it is - which is interesting in itself) becomes obsessed with it.
"There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down."
Without giving the game away too much (the delicious description of the ever more complex wallpaper is the scene stealer) what wasn't broken becomes so.
I believe Charlotte Perkins Gilmore wrote this short novel as a protest against "the rest cure" to which Victorian women were subjected. For those interested in this subject I can heartily recommend [bc:Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World|55502857|Unwell Women Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World|Elinor Cleghorn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608625984l/55502857._SY75_.jpg|86547344]
which covers it in some detail.
Anyhow, The Yellow Wallpaper is an important story and one I will re-read in the near future.
"If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression."
But don't stop there because the important part is the undercurrent. It is a telling of how husbands (ie men) know best and that wives are frivolous hysterics who don't know their own minds.
"John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage."
You could say the antagonist in the piece is the yellow wallpaper, as it has a life of its own. The dastardly pattern doesn't repeat and the invalid (is her name ever revealed - I'm not sure it is - which is interesting in itself) becomes obsessed with it.
"There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down."
Without giving the game away too much (the delicious description of the ever more complex wallpaper is the scene stealer) what wasn't broken becomes so.
I believe Charlotte Perkins Gilmore wrote this short novel as a protest against "the rest cure" to which Victorian women were subjected. For those interested in this subject I can heartily recommend [bc:Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World|55502857|Unwell Women Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World|Elinor Cleghorn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608625984l/55502857._SY75_.jpg|86547344]
which covers it in some detail.
Anyhow, The Yellow Wallpaper is an important story and one I will re-read in the near future.
lalawoman416's review against another edition
4.0
Eclectic. At first, I thought I was reading a collection of horror stories, which the first was. Then, I was hit with a romance story. Then I was hit with a classic in the vein of Edith Wharton. Still, I enjoyed them all.
olivia1997's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
aliceruthmyles's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
raekens's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
the yellow wallpaper was great think my personal favourite was turned! definitely the two standouts published in this 😻
soraliyn's review against another edition
4.0
Stories read:
- The Yellow Wall-paper
- An Honest Woman
- Making a Change
- If I were a Man
- The Unnatural Mother
- The Yellow Wall-paper
- An Honest Woman
- Making a Change
- If I were a Man
- The Unnatural Mother
jillaay_h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gaslighting
sj_books's review against another edition
2.0
Didn’t get the hype on this one, didn’t get on with it.
lizzie_yc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
winterreader40's review against another edition
4.5
Herland: Three men hear about a settlement made up entirely of women and of course set out to prove that there has to be men somewhere. They find what they are looking for and are almost immediately captured and essentially treated as naughty children, given schooling and exercise until they can be trusted to be let out. The society they find is peaceful, advanced and healthy and the women can procreate without men.
This was an interesting story but I find it weird that it is apparently the middle book of a trilogy, clearly it can be read as a standalone but now I'm curious about the other books.
The Yellow Wallpaper: A very short story about a woman's mind unraveling under her husbands control while she suffers from what seems like postpartum depression. This was fast and a little creepy.
This was an interesting story but I find it weird that it is apparently the middle book of a trilogy, clearly it can be read as a standalone but now I'm curious about the other books.
The Yellow Wallpaper: A very short story about a woman's mind unraveling under her husbands control while she suffers from what seems like postpartum depression. This was fast and a little creepy.