The Yellow Wallpaper

De: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Narrado por: Jo Myddleton

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

Perfect performance

This has been one of my favorite short stories for years, and Jo Myddleton brings it to life beautifully. The narrator character was pitch perfect, which left all of the ambiguity and nuance within the story intact.

It’s easy to over dramatize this story when it’s read aloud. I love Myddleton’s sensitivity and restraint.

Love it

I studied this short story back when I was in college in a Women's Writing course. I loved being reacquainted with the text. And the performance was absolutely perfect.

Such a great short story

I did the story as a dramatic reading in speech about 20 years ago. the story has such twists and turns with an ending that you would never expect.

incredible descriptions

I loved this story. originally purchased in preparation to see this produced on stage, now I'm quite excited to see how it translates to a live play.

I READ IT TWICE

I caught a lot of the symbolism the second time around. It's an artful and timeless telling of the housewife’s experience with mental illness and abuse.

She doesn't even know she is being abused, she just “descents into madness”, as has been said.

The husband is a figment of the backdrop, yet he's the villain all at once. It's a symbolic telling of the loss of control associated with marriage for women throughout history and even today and the subsequent mental health associated with that regime-like captivity.

A very good little short read.