Yellow Wallpaper

A young woman confined to a room for her mental health slowly descends into madness as she obsesses over the wallpaper.

Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, this chilling feminist psychological short story is presented through the secret diary of an unnamed woman suffering from "nervous depression." Her physician husband prescribes the "rest cure," forbidding her from working, writing, or socializing, and confining her to a top-floor nursery with barred windows and hideous yellow wallpaper. As days pass alone in the room, she becomes fixated on the chaotic, nightmarish patterns of the wallpaper, eventually believing that a trapped woman is creeping behind the paper trying to escape. This masterpiece of psychological horror has inspired short films and psychological dramas.

➤ Highlights

• The Rest Cure: A husband confines his depressed wife to a room, forbidding all activity.
• Claustrophobic Setting: A barred nursery room with haunting, hideous yellow wallpaper.
• Descending into Madness: Isolation causes the protagonist to obsess over the wallpaper patterns.
• Trapped Illusion: She comes to believe a woman is trapped and creeping behind the walls.
• Psychological Horror: The feminist classic has inspired acclaimed short films and psychological dramas.