Gilman turns a simple room into a psychological labyrinth, peeling back layer after layer of restraint until madness becomes its own form of liberation. Every peel of the wallpaper, every shadow behind the pattern, becomes a scream against control. I like it because i think it's sort of a testament to the devastating power of silencing a woman’s voice.
Nice
I love how Gilman makes the wallpaper mirror the narrator’s mental confinement; the pattern’s slow reveal feels like her sanity unraveling.
Herland is also good!
I read this the first time when I was in junior high because Stephen King said it was the best horror short story ever written – it was in the early 80s, when horror was absolutely dominated by male writers, and I will always appreciate his shout-outs to classic female horror writers (he said the best book was Shirley Jackson’s Hill House).
It’s brilliant, there are so many different possible ways you can read it. It works as autobiography and it works as a straight-up horror story and everything in between.
For me, the scariest moment is when she tries to tell her husband what’s happening and he says something like, “oh, it shall believe any fancy it likes!”
What a vivid description - adding this to my to-read list! Thank you!
IT'S SO GOOD. I only read this this year (I'm in my 30s) for the first time. Loved it.
My interpretation of it is this: if women go untreated for postpartum disorders, then they lean into the mental illness, finding comfort in it. the patriarchy don't understand or appreciate how hard this is for women, nor do they make any effort to learn about it. suddenly it's too late.
I'll probably reread this story a lot. it's creepy and dark. truly timeless!
When I teach it, I make it a trio with Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers.”
Charlotte P. Gilman just sounds so wrong. Like Martin L. King, Louisa M. Alcott, or Billy D. Williams (actually that last one might be okay).
Loved the book! The story writing by the author is interesting and simple enough to understand everything