The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
Ratings91
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings91
Average rating3.8
Seven charming tales explore relations between the sexes and offer witty insights from a feminist perspective. Includes the 1892 title classic, plus "Cottagette," "Turned," "Mr. Peebles' Heart," and more.
Featured Prompt
2,873 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Reviews with the most likes.
wow... a master class in how to concisely illustrate a grotesquely beautiful character descent in just slightly above 50 pages.
the unnamed narrator begins the story in an optimistic tone, having moved into a beautiful house rented for 3 months by her husband, a physician. it's not explicitly stated, but there are hints to say that she's been prescribed a “rest cure” which was apparently a thing from the late 19th century (when this novella was written) to cure some “slight hysterical tendencies” and a “nervous condition” after the birth of her child. the idea isn't as relaxing as just lounging around a resort. she's basically made to keep to her room and not do anything for herself, so she can only stare at the yellow wallpaper in her room day and night, and which eventually becomes the focal point of her mental unravelling.
this was just the right amount of creepy and sad, and was beautifully written to top it all off, and just goes to show that you don't need page count to deliver an impactful and memorable story.
I've always seen references to the yellow wallpaper everywhere, I finally got around to reading it and I wasn't disappointed. The fact that a book about women, the patriarchy, and mental health written in the 1800's can still hold up today and mean so much to us is both impressive and sad.
A charming collection of stories from Charlotte Gilman, most notably remembered as the author of high school favourite The Yellow Wallpaper, a searing depiction of the slide into mental disarray masked in a cloak of horror fiction.
This collection highlights just how anachronistic Gilman was, and firmly casts her as a pioneer of first wave feminism. Her frustration at the dismissiveness she had to deal with because of her sex is palpable throughout, and many of the questions posed in her stories are still very relevant today, some very close to the bone indeed.
I'd like to try out some of her novels or novellas in the future as I found that many of these stories were quite abruptly ended, or contained ideas that felt too big to be confined to such a small space. I suspect she'll bloom in the longer format.
3.5 stars.
Had to read “Yellow Wall-Paper” for lit class...very short story, but great. There was a whole lot of creepy creeping going on, hahaha; but in all seriousness, good tale about women and their struggles against society.
