The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Mar 2017 · Author's Republic · Narrated by Freya Hansen

About this audiobook

Presented in the first person, the story is a collection of journal entries written by a woman (Jane) whose physician husband (John) has confined her to the upstairs bedroom of a house he has rented for the summer. She is forbidden from working and has to hide her journal from him, so she can recuperate from what he calls a "temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency," a diagnosis common to women in that period. The windows of the room are barred, and there is a gate across the top of the stairs, allowing her husband to control her access to the rest of the house.

Ratings and reviews

The woman's fixation on the wallpaper and her hallucinations underscore the power of the human imagination and its capacity to both liberate and imprison the mind. Her creative impulses clash with the oppressive reality of her situation, leading to a breakdown of her mental faculties.

The Yellow Wallpaper critiques the patriarchal norms and gender roles that confine women to domesticity and deny them autonomy and agency. The protagonist's confinement and subjugation symbolize the broader societal oppression faced by women in the 19th century.

The story's portrayal of mental illness, female agency, and the intersection of gender and power continues to resonate with readers today, sparking discussions about women's rights, mental health advocacy, and the importance of self-expression and autonomy.