As I read another book written more than 100 years ago I was once again impressed by the currency of the ideas and writing. This is a feminist book, the first of Ms. Perkins Gilman's that I have read and won't be the last. ( )

A welcome feminist point of view. ( )

Strongly written short stories: the title story is a memorable portrayal of a woman sliding into madness after the birth of her chld. "Recuperating" in a rented home, the logical (making the right answers to her husband and servant, walking in the garden) are intercut with a weird and horrible obsession with the patterns on the walls... ( )

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I haven’t read much classic reads this year, and a few days before the end of 2018, I decided to go for a classic short story, and I chose The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

This classic has been written by a woman in the 19th century. A time when women weren’t treated the same way as today. A difficult time, where women couldn’t express their opinion as they wished, but they were suppressed by the male authority in the family.

When The Yellow Wallpaper came out, it was considered a Gothic Horror Tale. It is hard to believe for me, knowing the world we live in today, and how we, as women can express our opinions openly. But back in the days, this is how it was. It wasn’t easy for the woman, and I am glad we have a lot of brave women from that time, that gathered the courage to tell stories for the next generations.

This is a story about a woman, who seems to suffer of post-partum depression (a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth). She has been forced by her husband and doctor to stay in her room until she is ”mentally capable” again to take care of her baby. I am not a mother, but I can imagine the pain and suffering of not being allowed to see and hold your unborn child. And people thought this was okay?

The woman is constantly staring at the yellow wallpaper and the window, constantly reassuring herself that this is all happening for her own good, and that the husband and doctor know best, until a point where we are not actually sure if she is in her right mind anymore.

She starts to see a woman inside the wallpaper, and believes the woman is struggling to break free. I loved the metaphor used, as her subconscious knows she is trapped, and the end is so painful to read, but oh, so powerful.

Even though such a short read, The Yellow Wallpaper is an impressive view on cultural traditions, and the position of women in the family. A classic and a must-have for every woman!

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I'd read The Yellow Wallpaper many years ago in an anthology. I always remembered it but never ventured into looking up more of Gilman's writings, until now. And it was well worth it. Her other stories are charming, intriguing and witty, and may even be better than her most well known one, The Yellow Wallpaper .

It's a pity she's been branded a "feminist" writer, as this term can be so loaded and turn off many readers. I appreciate her stories and writing style as they are- without any particular agenda. I failed to find any misandry in her characters.

This collection contained only seven stories; I hope to find more of her writings. ( )