Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Die gelbe Tapete (German language, 1978)
German language
Published Dec. 3, 1978
El papel tapiz amarillo es un relato corto sumamente inquietante, que te deja ver desde dentro cómo una mujer va perdiéndose a sí misma en la locura. Lo más interesante es que la narración nos lleva suavemente y sin violencia alguna a este estado; sin darnos cuenta, estamos del otro lado.
Hot on the heels of another classic of 'women's mental health' fiction - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath which I read and reviewed two weeks ago - I was excited to spot a disintegrating Virago edition of The Yellow Wallpaper on the Rowcroft Hospice charity book table in Torquay Indoor Market. I had read discussions of this story on the Goodreads-Bookcrossing Decade Challenge forums last year, but had not previously read the work itself.
At only twenty-eight pages, The Yellow Wallpaper is a quick read and a strangely powerful one. I was horrified at the thought of this woman who seemed obviously to be suffering post-natal depression being effectively shut away in solitary confinement. And this was considered a cure! Her patronising husband angered me intensely although I know that such ignorant attitudes were the norm until relatively recently. Being aware of the truthful basis to the story only …
Hot on the heels of another classic of 'women's mental health' fiction - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath which I read and reviewed two weeks ago - I was excited to spot a disintegrating Virago edition of The Yellow Wallpaper on the Rowcroft Hospice charity book table in Torquay Indoor Market. I had read discussions of this story on the Goodreads-Bookcrossing Decade Challenge forums last year, but had not previously read the work itself.
At only twenty-eight pages, The Yellow Wallpaper is a quick read and a strangely powerful one. I was horrified at the thought of this woman who seemed obviously to be suffering post-natal depression being effectively shut away in solitary confinement. And this was considered a cure! Her patronising husband angered me intensely although I know that such ignorant attitudes were the norm until relatively recently. Being aware of the truthful basis to the story only increases its atmosphere and I loved how Gilman paces her reveal for maximum impact. I think The Yellow Wallpaper is a deserved classic on several fronts: as a short horror story, as feminist literature, and as a compelling evocation of mental breakdown.
