The Yellow Wallpaper

By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Narrated by: Jo Myddleton

Length: 35 mins

Publisher's summary

In this classic late-nineteenth-century story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a new mother suffering from what we might today call 'post-partum depression', is diagnosed with a nervous disorder.

Instructed to abandon her intellectual life and avoid stimulating company, she sinks into a still-deeper depression invisible to her husband, who believes he knows what is best for her. Alone in the yellow-wallpapered nursery of a rented house, she descends into madness.

Public Domain (P)2008 Summersdale Publishers Ltd

A story understood best when an adult

This is one of those short stories some high school literature teachers have students read as a "classic". Yes, it is a classic, but can only be fully understood and appreciated when one is an adult. Psychologically speaking, anyone can go mad if presented with the right circumstances. Some escape those circumstances; others do not. This is the case of the main character of this short story. Post-partem depression linked with a controlling husband linked with separation from the outside world force this young bride and mother into a world that only she can see and comprehend. And while the outside world sees her as having gone mad, from her perspective she has only tried to free herself, and does so. The listener sees it step-by-step and it makes sense. The other characters, practically ignoring her throughout the story see her at Step A and then again at Step Z and to them it makes no sense at all, adding to the tragedy. It is a well written, well read tale.

day dream in a book

What does Jo Myddleton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her dreamy sing song like voice was perfect for this book.

If you could take any character from The Yellow Wallpaper out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The lady behind the print.

Any additional comments?

Its like entries from a diary so not much depth just watching voyeuristic exports of a womans descends into madness

loved it

I read this short story in a literature course in college and I loved it, I was so happy to find it here. The woman speaking is very nice to listen to and really puts you in the story.

Very short read - Easy to relate to if you are an individual who is regularly criticized

I first heard about this book on Season 1 of American Horror Story… One of the characters explained it was a book about a woman being driven insane by her husband (exactly why I wanted to read it).

Despite the length of this book (super quick read), it is very clear to see how the husband is making his wife believe she is insane and how she gobbles up each and every word of his lies, thinking he is so good to her and actually being grateful for having him in her life.

I recommend this to anyone who is struggling with a relationship (family, friends, coworkers, etc.) because they are feeling crazy…. like they are constantly making mistakes. For me specifically (and I think this is true for a lot of people), this book was kind of a summary of my life while married to a narcissistic pathological liar; my former husband constantly called me crazy and convinced not only friends and coworkers, but even my own family that I was “crazy” and basically the “bad one” in the relationship…. behind my back. To my face, he always told me he spoke very highly of me to everyone.

Quick read & interesting. The narrator’s voice is also so soothing that I listen to it at night sometimes to help me fall asleep.

Interesting

This story was delightfully creepy. This story is of a woman slowly going insane, but I still liked it.

Wild and weird I like it

Def a good shirt listen very interesting and I love the narrator! Would listen to anything she does! Def recommend for anyone to have a go at! Check it out’

Unnerving and disturbing

When I first listened to the story a year ago, I was deeply moved and shaken. It took me so much time to listen to it again. I must say it's not just a spooky story of a woman showing signs of incipient madness, as it might seem. It's a protest against quack psychiatrists of the 19th century, who instead of curing patients ended up complicating their mental illness.
The story is autobiographical. Being unstable, C.P. Gilman suffered from nervous breakdowns herself. She turned to a physician, whose treatment methods proved to be ineffective. C.P. Gilman was subdued to the domestic sphere, was allowed to have only two hours' intellectual stimulation, and was prevented from working. Deprived from normal life, she nearly slipped into insanity. Only when Gilman returned to work, did she manage to recover.
As Charlotte Perkins Gilman put it, the story "was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy".

I don't get it

But I think that means I need to read it again. Definitely a mind bender. Gilman reminds me a bit of Lovecraft's style, abstract and using plays on perspective to create uncertainty and doubt. Also reminiscent of the Spanish Modernist style of the late 19th century, the confusion caused by loneliness and helplessness made me think of El Hijo by Horacio Quiroga. Good read! Good reader too!

I loved it!

I had always heard about this story but I had never actually checked up on it until now when I saw how affordable it was. I wish it were longer, but it was well done. I loved the person reciting the story. She did an excellent job.

Very good!!

Narrators accent gave the story a horrific tone, story was quiet entertaining as well. I don't read much, but this story was amusing.