The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Seven thought-provoking stories employ charm and humor to examine relations between the sexes from a feminist perspective. In addition to the title story, an 1892 classic that recounts a woman’s descent into madness, this collection includes "Cottagette," "Turned," "Mr. Peebles’ Heart," and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 70 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; Unabridged edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486298574
• ISBN-13: 978-0486298573
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of Historical Value, July 27, 2000

By	"hermione" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

Gilman's novel is even more relevant today than when it was first printed. More than merely a narrative of female intellectual oppression or a critique of late 19th century social mores, "The Yellow Wallpaper" documents a practice that was common among the middle and upper class. Known as the "rest cure," women who displayed signs of depression or anxiety were committed to lie in bed for weeks at a time, and allowed no more than twenty minutes of intellectual exertion a day. Believing that intellectual activity would overwhelm the fragile female mind, "rest cure" refers to the prevention of women from thinking, relying on the assumption that the natural state of the female mind was one of emptiness. Seeing as how the women were confined to empty rooms with no exercise or stimulation of any kind, the obvious consequence was that the women became still more anxious, which reinforced the convictions of the doctors and husbands that their wives needed further rest.

The "rest cure" was prescribed most commonly to women who had recently given birth. Suffering from what we now know is post-partem depression (caused by hormonal fluctuations of seratonin that result from the female body adjusting to not having a fetus to delivering hormones to), women were locked up and kept from seeing their newly born children.

Gilman's book, therefore, is not only an American literary classic, but it also provides insight into America's social history; a history which will not be forgotten as long as people continue to carefully read this psychologically wrought story.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars writing in a gilded cage, March 30, 1998

By A Customer

I was 15 when I first read this book. I was awkward and unhappy. The book hit something inside of me and wrenched sympathy from me. It was unbelievable how much oppressed women writers were in the 19th century. The central character in the Yellow wallpaper was trapped behind a cage of propriety, carefully manufactured and sold by society. Her writings were "destructive" and were dangerous to the accepted norm. When she couldn't write, she couldn't live. Her madness was a direct reaction against her entrapment. She was someone who simply couldn't live without writing. I would highly recommend this book to any reader. It is tragic, beautiful and maddening.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent selection of feminist short stories., April 5, 1998

By	"sandcastle320" (So. California) - See all my reviews

The Yellow Wallpaper and other stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a wonderful compilation of feminist short stories. The first story, The Yellow Wallpaper reminds us, even today, that a woman who allows herself to become dominated to the point where her talents are suppresed can made herself a prisoner of her own creativity. The protagonist,much like Gilman, has a "nervous disorder." Unlike Gilman, who wrote her way out of the "disorder" the "wife" is not allowed to write and thus must sneak her writing, much like an alcoholic. Eventually, the wallpaper invades her space to the point of madness. Other stories point up other women's issues, such as Three Thanksgivings, in which the women save themselves via a business adventure, which is similar to Making a Change, in which a mother's anxiety and depression are alleviated by following her true creative urges and an older woman's losses are alleviated by her ability to nurture. The Cottagette was a light-hearted romp into the problems women create for themselves and how a too-good-to-be-true suitor helps out his beloved. Turned is an interesting story of what happens when a man makes a wrong move in the presence of a strong woman! Last but not least, Mr. Peebles Heart is an interesting story of a fiftyish shopkeeper. For $1.00, this book is a highly recommended find for those that enjoy feminist literature. I happen to be one of those so I have given it a "10."END