this was a feminist peice before feminism ever existed. well written, crafty, and enthralling 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is kind of annoying. hear me read it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TYqIu... ( )

Very moving story about a woman who slowly loses her mind because of the way society treats women during the 19th century. ( )

This novella is a terrifying account of one women's descent into madness. This tale is told in the first person by the wife of a doctor. Modern day readers will recognize that she is suffering from postpartum depression. This book was published in 1892 and therefore reflects the attitudes and treatments of mental illness. What made me cringe the most was the comments and limitations the husband/doctor made for his wife.

The bedroom's description gave me shivers. Allegedly, it was a former nursery which was the explanation for metal rings and other objects inserted in the wall. The bed appears to be nailed to the wall and there are gouges in it and the walls. It makes the reader wonder is someone else was confined here due to madness.

The yellow wallpaper becomes the woman's focus and she begins to have hallucinatory experiences. It becomes a living organism and the woman believes that another woman is trapped in it. Our protagonist has projected her dilemma to the woman in the wallpaper. The wallpaper draws the woman and the reader into its serpentine web. ( )

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. ( )

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1952

The decor around here needs serious work.

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2007/11/yellow-wallpaper-charlotte-perkins.html ( )