The Yellow Wall-Paper

"An incredible short story of a women slowly going insane because as “medical treatment” she is forced to stare at yellow wallpaper. <br/><br/>It is also partly based on personal experience because the author went through the treatment and then wrote a short story on it. It was this story that made them stop doing this."

"I read this many years ago during one of my English classes in highschool. I think it was for my freshman year. I remembered I really enjoyed this one and it creeped me out. However, the only thing I could remeber was that she had a baby and sat in the nursery with the disturbing yellow wall paper. <br/>I thought maybe she had some postpartum depression that drove her crazy during their stay there. I also thought for some reason that she killed her baby but that's not what happens and I must be thinking of another story. <br/><br/>This story and other horror movies that have scenes of ripping into the wallpaper to reveal what's behind it scares me out of ever wanting to put wallpaper on my walls in my house. The fact she believed there was a woman or multiple women behind the wallpaper and she needed to reveal them or set them free, creeped me out. The image of someone or a woman crawling continuously around the room will haunt my nightmares tonight. The fact that she turned into that woman who creepily crawls around the room will be in my nightmares. <br/><br/>I don't know if there is but there should be a movie adaptation of this. I think someone could really turn this into a creepy horror film and I'm highly creeped out just thinking about it!<br/><br/>5/28/2024<br/>This is the first time I listened to this book via audiobooks and it's just as creepy as I've read it multiple times in my head...I may have nightmares from my over reacting imagination!<br/><br/>EDIT:<br/>OMGOODNESS I feel like I have to reread this one again. (As if I wasn't already planning to do so at some point in my life) After reading someone else's review, they made so much sense within the details of the room not really being a "nursery". More like an insane asylum made to think or look like a nursery for the main character who is "trapped" within the room. The bed being gnawed at and then she is taking bites out of the bed. The wallpaper is torn at, and then she tears down the wallpaper! It's all making more sense. And in my first review I was right about assuming post partum depression is leading up to her downward spiral into madness. Not to mention her husband is gas lighting her and not dealing with her issues...she says he has fainted but now I'm assuming she lashed out at him and she killed him. She is very unreliable as a main character and I love how open ended this one was for interpretation."

"This was very interesting, I don’t think she was as ill as her husband was making her seem. I think she was more confused. I also feel her husband was taking advantage & almost gaslighting the situation, his way of trying to help her get better weren’t healthy in my opinion. I think that when people are ill things should stay as normal as possible for comfort."

"It was nice, I liked the fact that it immersed me into her head very well, the subtle signs of her going slowly deeper and deeper into insanity. I'm just a little underwhelmed. I understand that this is a short story, but I feel like the story that she told perhaps wasn't built for this short of a story. I think the story being longer would have done a better service to the overall book, and I think I would be able to rate it higher. There wasn't any sort of conclusion, any sort of answers, I felt like this was simply a setup to a larger story. But it was a nice short read, for what it's worth."

"Disturbing journal entries follow a woman’s descent into madness. Feelings of helplessness trying to find meaning, patterns, order when faced with great tragedy/chaos."

""I'm sure I never used to be so sensitive."<br/><br/>While I was reading the story, I was afraid something dreadful might happen in the end. And yes, it did. For a moment, I just sat still and thought about the end of the story and quickly went over the internet to read about the author's life. To my surprise, I discovered that Gilman was suffering from post-partum depression in real life too! And what was most heartbreaking was that later on, when she got diagnosed with breast cancer, she thought it was better to die of suicide than from breast cancer (she was an advocate of euthanasia).<br/>.<br/>Coming back to the story, there are several themes underlying in it such as the women's subordination to men in marriage during those times, as well as the importance of self-expression.<br/>"He hates to have me write a word." From this, we know that writing is off the limits for the narrator since that is believed to be something which made her sick and thus, she has to keep a secret journal.<br/>"I wish I could get well faster."<br/>"I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time." :')<br/>.<br/>But how long can one hide their anxieties and fears? The story, thus, shows how her mind was doomed to self-destruction because it was kept in a state of forced inactivity.<br/>.<br/>This is truly a must read! This short story clearly speaks loud and clear how mental health is sometimes neglected and why it is necessary for a person's family as well as the doctors to not ignore the "signs"."

"Too creepy."