The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

🏷️ Spoiler Policy

Reviews on The Muddled Reader are spoiler safe by default and focus on mental health themes rather than plot. Any post containing plot spoilers is clearly marked.

Review through a mental health lens

Book details

Title: The Yellow Wallpaper

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Date Published: January 1st 1892

Pages: 24

🍀 Why I Picked This Book

I knew this book was a semi-autobiographical account, detailing Charlotte’s experience of Dr Weir Mitchell’s created and prescribed treatment for depression, anxiety, “hysteria”, The Rest Therapy. Due to my own life and experiences I lap up anything to do with mental health, so I HAD to read this!

🌈 Overall Feeling & Vibes

“If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but a temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do?” Observe a woman descend into madness as she is misunderstood, gaslit, infantilised and condescended in a world that in particular didn’t understand women’s mental health. This real story is told through a psychosis episode. A post partum woman is prescribed the rest therapy and with nothing to occupy her mind, she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in her room. She seeks hidden messages and loses her mind in the process.

🧠 Mental Health Themes Present

🧵 Postpartum depression

🧵 Postpartum psychosis

🧵 Gaslighting and dismissal of women’s mental health

🧵 Isolation and confinement

🧵 Obsession and psychosis

💥 Moments That Hit Hard

Finding out that men displaying the same symptoms as women were prescribed fresh air, companionship, hobbies, whilst women were prescribed isolation, confinement, no interaction, no pastimes, a disgusting diet… Wow, does this make me angry. Learning that Charlotte’s account led to other women speaking out about how harmful the rest therapy was led to the treatment fizzling out in early 20th century.

👥 Who Would I Recommend This Book To

Everybody should read this story. Yes it’s scary, but the real horror is how women were viewed in terms of mental health. “Little goose!”, “Bless her little heart!”, “She will be as sick as she pleases!”. How condescending!

📝 Final Reflections

I will think about this short story for a long time to come. As someone very experienced with mental health conditions, whether that be myself or the people in my life, I felt many emotions reading this. Anger, empathy, sadness and the feeling of being gaslit and “mansplained” to. It’s a must read to gain perspective on how far we have come in terms of mental health and treatment and in particular women’s mental health. Charlotte’s brave writing contributed to this, and we should be truly thankful.

🌿 Comfort / Distress Balance

Emotionally heavy: 💔💔(this book didn’t make me emotional, it made me angry!)

Hopeful elements: 🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️(surprisingly, knowing that Charlotte’s terrifying tale helped put an end end to harmful mental health treatment fills me with joy!)

Comfort read potential: ☕

Overall Book Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐