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A review by darlaslays
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This story is very relatable as someone who has experienced psychosis as a result of a mental health condition. This is a story based on things that happened to real women back then.
It was easy to read and told in the form of first person diary/journal entries. It highlights a woman’s descent into experiencing horrifying delusions as a result of her mental health concerns being ignored by her husband.
It really puts you into her point of view and is a great way to experience secondhand what psychosis is like if you have never have before. Still, some people may not get it, and these people not getting it need to understand that this is how misunderstood women historically were when seeking medical and psychological help.
— Personal Reflection:
I, myself, experienced a modern-day variation of this before I knew I had bipolar. I was sleep-deprived, wasn’t getting much activity, and my mind went to all sorts of imaginative places. I barely left my room and everyone thought I was okay when I wasn’t.
Nobody knew what was happening to me, but luckily, modern-day doctors were able to identify it as a manic episode with psychosis. I recovered and got help, but I did a lot of similar things that the main character in the story did. I wrote a lot of lucid journal entries that became incoherent over the course of several days.
I empathized with what the main character and many other women in real life go through. The agitation and feeling stuck is real. Being misunderstood and not listened to by well-meaning people is really frustrating.
It was easy to read and told in the form of first person diary/journal entries. It highlights a woman’s descent into experiencing horrifying delusions as a result of her mental health concerns being ignored by her husband.
It really puts you into her point of view and is a great way to experience secondhand what psychosis is like if you have never have before. Still, some people may not get it, and these people not getting it need to understand that this is how misunderstood women historically were when seeking medical and psychological help.
— Personal Reflection:
I, myself, experienced a modern-day variation of this before I knew I had bipolar. I was sleep-deprived, wasn’t getting much activity, and my mind went to all sorts of imaginative places. I barely left my room and everyone thought I was okay when I wasn’t.
Nobody knew what was happening to me, but luckily, modern-day doctors were able to identify it as a manic episode with psychosis. I recovered and got help, but I did a lot of similar things that the main character in the story did. I wrote a lot of lucid journal entries that became incoherent over the course of several days.
I empathized with what the main character and many other women in real life go through. The agitation and feeling stuck is real. Being misunderstood and not listened to by well-meaning people is really frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis