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.

An Author's Republic audio production.

Ratings and reviews

The Yellow Wallpaper renowned for its exploration of the oppression of women and the consequences of patriarchal control. Set in the late 19th century, the story follows a woman's descent into madness as she grapples with the constraints of societal expectations and the stifling effects of her environment.

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 story explores the thin line between sanity and madness, highlighting the detrimental effects of isolation, gaslighting, and invalidation on mental health. The protagonist's descent into madness serves as a commentary on the damaging consequences of denying individuals the right to express themselves and control their own lives.