The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.”
The Yellow Wall Paper the story of a woman forced into confinement masking as prescribed treatment from her physician and husband. She longs to write and be in society but is forbidden from doing so because her husband thinks her ‘nervous condition’ could deteriorate, and so a woman suffering from postpartum depression descends into insanity.
This was truly more horrifying than so many horror novels just because of how close it is to reality. The story really drives home the history of women’s subjugation and the main character’s acceptance of it. It also emphasizes mental health issues as legitimate illnesses. Depression and anxiety are as real as a cold and need to be treated as such.
I listened to the audio version of this book produced by Chatterbox Audio Theatre. Highly recommend it to audiobook lovers because the production was of a very high quality. Do give it a try if you want to read this book.
WaveringMind07 