The Yellow Wallpaper

By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Doctor's orders confine a woman suffering from anxiety and depression to her bedroom, in an effort to prevent mental stimulation of any sort. Despite her forced "rest cure," she continues to write in her journal when her husband isn't looking. Her entries record her terrible and growing fascination with the hideous yellow wallpaper that dominates the room, documenting her slow descent into madness. This work by American author Charlotte Perkins Gilman was based on the author's own experiences. She knew firsthand that the nineteenth-century medical establishment often had dangerously misguided ideas about women's mental and physical health. It is considered to be a seminal feminist work by some, a prime example of Gothic horror by others. First published in 1892, this is an unabridged version of Gilman's controversial short story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512466843

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860 in Connecticut. Her father left when she was young and Gilman spent the rest of her childhood in poverty. As an adult she took classes at the Rhode Island School of Design and supported herself financially as a tutor, painter and artist. She had a short marriage with an artist and suffered serious postnatal depression after the birth of their daughter. In 1888 Gilman moved to California, where she became involved in feminist organizations. In California, she was inspired to write and she published The Yellow Wallpaper in The New England Magazine in 1892. In later life she was diagnosed with breast cancer and died by suicide in 1935.

Book preview

A depressed woman confined to her bedroom becomes obsessed with the room’s yellow wallpaper and documents her slow descent into madness. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s controversial short story was first published in 1892. The text is in the public domain. This First Avenue Classics™ version has placed the text into a new design to make this book appealing and easier to read in both digital and paperback formats. The First Avenue Classics™ version is unabridged and has been proofed for formatting errors. Errors and alternate spellings found in the original book have not been changed.

Copyright © 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

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For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.

In fixed layout formats of this book, the main body text is set in Janson Text LT Std 55 Roman 11/15.

Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860-1935, author.

Title: The yellow wallpaper / by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Description: Minneapolis : First Avenue Editions, a Division of Lerner Publishing Group, [2017] | Series: First Avenue Classics

Identifiers: LCCN 2016008209 (print) | LCCN 2016013988 (ebook) | ISBN 9781512426229 (softcover : acid-free paper) | ISBN 9781512426236 (eb pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Mentally ill women—Fiction. | Married women—Fiction. | Sex role—Fiction. | Psychological fiction.

Classification: LCC PS1744.G57 Y45 2017 (print) | LCC PS1744.G57 (ebook) | DDC 813/.4—dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016008209

Manufactured in the United States of America

1-41377-23321-7/20/2016

9781512466843 ePub

9781512466850 ePub

9781512466867 mobi

Reviews for The Yellow Wallpaper

[moniquesnyman-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A creepy psychological horror with subtle feminism undertones. I truly enjoyed this one, because it showed how helpless women of the past were in certain situations, governed by their fathers, husbands, and brothers.

[readingover50 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read this short story in 1 sitting. It is the story of a woman's descent into madness following the birth of her child and the subsequent enforced rest. She is taken to a country house to recover and spends most of her time confined to a room with horrid yellow wallpaper. The description of the room makes me think what happens to the woman has happened in the past. A creepy, thought provoking read.

[norabelle414 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A woman and her husband and young child rent a house for a few months while their house is being renovated. They stay in an attic bedroom with confusingly-patterned yellow wallpaper. The woman, already dealing with mental health problems, slowly becomes delusional due to her husband keeping her in the room with nothing to do but stare at the wallpaper every day.I was expecting this story to speak to me much more than it actually did. I know what the generally accepted interpretation of this story is - the woman's husband is controlling and abusive and she projects that feeling on to the wallpaper as she goes crazy. However, if the reader is seeing things only from the woman's perspective, and the woman is definitely delusional by the end, and thus an unreliable narrator, who are we to say when exactly she turned delusional? I'm certainly among the first to point out when a man is too controlling of a woman, but I think if the woman was delusional and paranoid from before the narration begins this story would look exactly the same.The downside of listening to this story as an audiobook is that I had no sense of time passing. There were no dates or noticeable breaks in the narration, so one minute they are moving into the house for 3 months and the next minute they are a couple days from moving back home. The lack of sense of time might have had something to do with my interpretation. I did listen to it twice but that did not seem to help.

[stephlaymon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Yellow Wall-Paper was one of the first short novels that I read. I made the exception because of its status on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I am glad that I read it. It is the perfect length for a cup of tea and the price is right. It is a part of Project Gutenberg, and an eBook can be obtained free of charge.
The story is a series of journal entries told in first person by the narrator, a nameless woman who is locked in a room, after being diagnosed as ‘nervously depressed’ by her physician husband, John. I believe that John acts out of love, although questionable at times. His treatment of his wife is so oppressive, that it seems that the woman may have created her own sense of freedom, although it is seen as psychotic.
The journal entries describe the woman’s descent into psychosis with the wallpaper in the room where she is locked in her own thoughts. The ending of the story has an odd, but feminist triumph of sorts. I can see that there are many ways that this story, albeit short, could be interpreted. The bottom line is that there is a lot of punch in this short little ditty.

[deborahj2016 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing, painful, frightening. TV Tropes even refers to this short story from 1892... (especially in the "Room Full of Crazy" trope...)

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

With still so many unresolved questions, The Yellow Wallpaper keeps its power.Was the doctor husband totally without bad intentions?If no, why did he not respond to his wife's simple request NOT to stay in the upstairs nursery with the awful peeling wallpaper?Did her writing actually cause her to become more upset? or was this a thing he just wanted to control?If she could make it outside for daily walks, why does she keep insisting that her husband would not allow her to DO anything?She could have gardened! fed birds! found a pet! followed the wildlife! dug a pond!So this descent into madness felt more like the choices of an unstable mind rather than an intent by her husband and his sister to drive her insane.

[nospi-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story told in journal fashion of a woman compelled to take a rest cure by her p hysician hu s band and the result forced inactivity has on her mind.

[lisamorr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very quick read. The VMC edition I had included an Afterword which was almost as long as the book itself!I enjoyed this book (short story, or at most a novella). Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an early feminist, it recounts a wife's descent into madness. The main character is the wife mentioned above; it is told in the first person, and the reader is not entirely convinced of what is real and what is in the narrator's mind.This was a disturbing book - I felt helpless, like the narrator. A good book.

[mhenry4_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This short story is one that took me a short time to read, but inspired days of thought. It's a wonderfully written way to dive into the complex issues of the way society viewed/views mental illness, particularly the way the medical profession views mental illness, and the consequences. Also inspiring me to think about the subtle mistreatment of women in this era, it was really one of the most thought-provoking works I've read despite the short length.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I first came across this title when working on a project involving influential women. What little I heard about this story intrigued me, and now having read it, all I can say is "wow". This definitely has a mind-blowing quotient to it and begs discussion. I also loved how it felt gothic.

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman explores the rest cure through a story in which her unreliable narrator slowly unravels like the wallpaper on which she fixates. The tale begins with the narrator entering a gothic manse fallen on hard times as part of her physician husband John's prescription, "absolutely forbidden to 'work' until" she is well (pg. 3). Locked in a room with only the curling patterns on yellow wallpaper to occupy herself, she slowly begins imagining that they move and ascribing personalities to the patterns. The narrator looks out the window and offers insight into her life, but this fades as the wallpaper comes to dominate her world, until she must climb inside it. The story offers useful historical insight into the rest cure while also serving as a good example of nineteenth century gothic fiction.

[bale_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Yellow Wallpaper is a dark and powerfully written tale, first published in 1892, about a woman's descent into madness. Her psychosis is brought on by the social restrictions of the time, a controlling husband and the deteriorating yellow wallpaper that covers their bedroom.

[amydross · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Never read this as a kid, realized I probably should. An interesting perspective on interior decorating.

[ralphlagana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you've any appreciation for short stories that stand the test of time, then you're sure to like this one.

Gilman's story of woman in a room with yellow wallpaper sounds about as dry and bland as one can imagine, which is precisely why one needs to read it to see how dangerous preconceived ideas can be.

Gilman's narrator is bubbly and energetic initially, then changes begin to settle in -changes which leave her state of mind on the precipice of ruination. Does she manage to hold herself together? Or, does she slip into horrifying madness?

[thebookjunky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I doubt I will ever read again such powerful descriptions of wallpaper. What vivid writing!

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It starts so simply...a couple is on vacation. She is ill and taking a rest in the country. But is that true? She is scared, and trapped, and not allowed to leave. Her fear is palpable. Or, maybe, she is an extremely unreliable narrator?

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A woman, confined to an upper-story bedroom in a creepy house for a "rest cure" following a mental breakdown, becomes obsessed with the hideous yellow wallpaper.I have read this story a few times and I always forget how creepy and chilling it is, especially the final image. Gilman has a knack of pointing out the horrific things that society does to women. In this story, depriving the narrator of her means of expressing herself and stimulating her brain is just as terrifying as confining her to her room. I believe the narrator was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression.Reread in 2015.

[frozenplums · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite short stories of all time! Beautifully haunting psychological thriller!

[hotwolfie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my favorite short story. It's a good look at the repression of women, the mistreatment of women by society and the medical profession, and sexual oppression. It's an interesting representation of how post-partum depression was completely ignored in the past. It's a creepy, short story about a depressed woman's descent into madness after her husband locks her away in an old nursery (windows barred, door locked). Very chilling read.

[sullwyn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was shorter than I expected.. But interesting.. I loved the visuals I got from her description of the creeping woman behind the pattern in the wallpaper... And to learn ultimately that it was herself she saw trapped behind it.. Creepy.. And sad.. I enjoyed it!

[trayceetee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had picked this book up on a whim, largely due to how slim it was, but also because the little synopsis on the back of the book sounded interesting. Before I could start it, someone posted something on Facebook about how they'd read this book ages ago, and it had always stayed with them. I thought, "Huh. And I've never even heard of it...."
I read it in one sitting, less than an hour's time. For me, that's VERY fast. I can see, now, why they said it always stayed with them. I don't know that I would have appreciated it if I'd read this when I was in my teens or twenties, or even in my thirties.... but at this exact point in my life, it DEFINITELY spoke to me!!!
Another one I'll re-read again and again!!!

[dste_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think that The Yellow Wallpaper is a really good short story. The way that the plot unravels on it's way to the ending is really skillful. I'm also impressed by the fact that the author went through a similar situation and was able to find her way out of it! Knowing that the author wrote from experience added a lot of credibility to the story as a whole.

[rumpeltje · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this is a short story it is very powerful. You pick up on the slow deterioration of the main character, but like with the wallpaper it isn't that clear in the beginning.

What the attic room has been used for in the past is also up for discussion. I personally believe that although it might once have been used as nursery its previous function might be totally different.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a wonderfully creepy short story (novella?)! I had plenty of suspicions about what was going to happen, but wasn't even close...

[kikiunhinged · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant work and I love how disturbing people thought it was when she wrote it. As if one would have to be insane to be able to write that brilliantly. Loved it and will read it again.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an interesting short story about the psychological disintegration of a woman, seeing images in the eponymous object around her as she lays in her sickbed. Too short to exert a really powerful impact, though, for me. 3.5/5

[msaucier818 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a short story told from the point of view of a woman who was suffering what we would today call postpartum depression. Her husband and family force her to stay on bed rest in a strange room where she slowly loses her mind based on her surroundings - especially the wallpaper in the room. While short, the story does a nice job making the reader feel for the main character, and gives us a glimpse of what it might be like to suffer from that type of depression.

[laneliterati · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excitingly creepy in every way.

[pepperwings · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's fascinating and also mystifying how people handled mental stress, or mental disorders years ago, what things helped some people, and drove others further into madness. From what I understand, this story is partially true, based on the author's experience and hallucinations, and the frustration from people who largely had good intentions. Of course, from a feminist point of view, it's terrible how little people listened to what she wanted, or worked to truly understand and help.

[jewelknits · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A journalized descent into a woman's madness . . . brought on yellow wallpaper.A quick, rather creepy sort of read.