The Yellow Wallpaper

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860-1935

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story written in the late 19th century, often associated with the feminist literature genre. The narrative explores the themes of mental illness, gender roles, and the constraints faced by women in a patriarchal society. It follows the mental deterioration of a woman who is confined to a room by her husband, who is also her physician, under the pretense of helping her recover from what he diagnoses as temporary nervous depression. The story is presented as a series of journal entries written by an unnamed woman who is taken to a secluded mansion for rest cure. As she spends time in the nursery, she becomes increasingly obsessed with the room's yellow wallpaper, which she finds repulsive yet fascinating. Over time, she perceives a figure of a woman trapped within the wallpaper, reflecting her own feelings of oppression and entrapment. As the protagonist's isolation and desperation grow, she begins to identify with the figure, leading to a dramatic climax where she asserts her will by tearing down the wallpaper, ultimately rejecting the control her husband has over her life. The story is a powerful commentary on the struggles against patriarchal domination and the importance of self-identity and freedom. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger

Notes:

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Wallpaper

Reading ease score: 89.5 (6th grade). Easy to read.

Release date is 1999-11-01