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The Yellow Wallpaper

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The Yellow Wallpaper

Written by: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Narrated by: Cynthia Erivo
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A woman and her husband rent a summer house, but what should be a restful getaway turns into a suffocating psychological battle. This chilling account of postpartum depression and a husband's controlling behaviour in the guise of treatment will leave you breathless.

Public Domain (P)2022 Audible, Ltd Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Gender Issues Genre Fiction Ghosts Gothic Horror Metaphysical & Visionary Psychological Science Fiction Short Stories Social Sciences Women's Fiction Women's Studies American Literature
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I kept waiting for the big reveal and then it suddenly plummeted to an absurd twirl. A good sneak peek into the lives of mentally challenged people's world and of their loved ones. I'll have to read a few analysis of this story to properly make out what i just listened to.

Absurd horror at its best

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A woman suffering from postpartum depression is misdiagnosed with "hysteria" by her husband, a physician, who prescribes a "rest cure." This only worsens her condition, leading her to obsess over the yellow wallpaper in her room, where she begins seeing faces and figures trapped behind it. As things spiral further, she ultimately meets her downfall.

I can't say for sure whether misdiagnose is the right word—well, it certainly wasn’t right, but it’s possible that physicians at the time simply didn’t know any better and weren’t acting entirely out of ignorance. It’s well known that mental illness wasn’t taken seriously back then—honestly, even in 2025, it still isn’t in many places outside a few first-world countries. And considering this was the late 1800s, that checks out.

But the short story, originally published in a literary magazine (or something similar), likely helped raise much-needed awareness at the time. Since it’s now considered a classic, I imagine it played a significant role in shifting how people perceive mental illness, pushing them to take it seriously rather than dismissing it as hysteria or mere sadness.

Overall, an enjoyable yet haunting read(listen).

A Haunting Descent into Madness!

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A good read, and even 135 years later, still relevant to this day!! And especially john's sister, Jennie, the author's just so clever to include the character, cause Jennie represents how the family members still willingly help the patriarch even when they realise he's wrong. Cause the narrator says that she sees Jennie touching the wallpaper, i think it's her way of saying that Jennie understands, she understands that"the rest cure" is BS and john isolating his wife is not right. And in the end, when the narrator completely loses it, Jennie stays outside the room representing how they turn a blind eye pretending everything's alright. idk if that was the author’s intention, it’s is just my interpretation tho. Nevertheless, it's a classic for a reason.

Jennie, John’s sister!!

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should have shot the husband. I can NOT stress this enough: cock the gun and gun his cock.

should have shot the husband

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This book half the way might seem weird but the gets richer once you have completed it.

As things get bad - you notice the writing gets fragmented and witness the downfall internally in her mind - which makes this psychologically, a powerful read.

Oh what a read!

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