Diagnosed by her physician husband with a “temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency” after the birth of her child, a woman is urged to rest for the summer in an old colonial mansion. Forbidden from doing work of any kind, she spends her days in the house’s former nursery, with its barred windows, scratched floor, and peeling yellow wallpaper.. In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid” wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design. With nothing else to occupy her mind, the woman resolves to unlock the mystery of the wallpaper. Her quest, however, leads not to the truth, but into the darkest depths of madness.. A condemnation of the patriarchy, The Yellow Wallpaper explores with terrifying economy the oppression, grave misunderstanding, and willful dismissal of women in late nineteenth-century society.. First published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine.
The Yellow Wallpaper
A woman diagnosed with “temporary nervous depression” is confined to a colonial mansion’s nursery, becoming increasingly obsessed with the eerie yellow wallpaper. As she unravels the mystery within its patterns, she descends into madness, exposing the oppression and dismissal of women in late nineteenth-century society. A chilling condemnation of the patriarchy, this classic tale will captivate and haunt readers.
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