Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wall-paper

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First published in

New England Magazine

in January 1892, and reprinted by Small, Maynard, & Co. as a chapbook (1899),

The Yellow Wall-Paper

is Charlotte Perkins Gilman's most famous work. Depicting the nervous breakdown of a young wife and mother, the story is a potent example of psychological realism. Based loosely on Gilman's own experiences in undergoing the rest cure for neurasthenia,

The Yellow Wall-Paper

documents the psychological torment of her fictional first-person narrator. The narrator's husband, John, a physician, prescribes isolation and inactivity as treatment for her illness, a “temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency.” John forbids his wife to engage in work of any kind, including writing. Despite his admonitions, however, the narrator records…

451 words

Citation: Knight, Denise. "The Yellow Wall-paper". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8248, accessed 19 March 2024.]

8248 The Yellow Wall-paper 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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