“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, written in 1892 and often taught as an early example of feminist literature. It critiques the notion of female “hysteria” and medical practices of the time. The story follows a bedridden woman who becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her room, eventually believing there is a woman trapped inside it. Gilman based the story on her own experiences with a rest cure, which she found caused more psychological pain. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is now seen as a manifesto for women and the mentally ill.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a famous short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892. Today it is often taught in high school and college courses as an early example of feminist literature. The story is seen as a critique of the notion of female “hysteria” and the medical practices of the time.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is narrated by a speaker who was bedridden after the birth of her child, due to her alleged “temporary nervous depression”. Her doctor says that in order for her to get healthy, she has to stay in bed for weeks, without any kind of physical or mental stimulation. All you have to look at is the yellow wallpaper in the room.
The story consists of a series of diary entries, in which the speaker ponders his predicament, and soon begins to obsess over the yellow wallpaper. As the story progresses, his journal entries get stranger and stranger until he begins to describe a woman inside the wallpaper print, trapped inside the wall. At the conclusion of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the speaker believes she has escaped the wallpaper and no longer remembers who she is; in the final scene of the story, her husband passes out on the floor and she steps over her prone body to continue pacing the room.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is based on the personal experiences of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who suffered a severe nervous breakdown and depression. Her doctor’s advice was for her to have a “rest cure,” in which she should never again touch a pen, pencil or brush, barred from all academic or creative pursuits. Gilman followed the doctor’s advice for three months, but she realized that her treatment was causing her even more psychological pain. After giving up the treatment, she wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She sent a copy of her story to her doctor, but he never replied.
Gilman wrote that “The Yellow Wallpaper” was “not meant to drive people crazy, but to save people from going crazy, and it worked.” Many years later, she discovered that her doctor had stopped prescribing bed rest as a treatment for women, as did many others. Today, Gilman’s story is seen as a manifesto, for both women and the mentally ill.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
