Reading "The Yellow Wall-Paper"

what to watch for as you read Charlotte Perkins Gilman's classic short story of madness and marriage

This week, we’re reading a classic American short story—and one that you’ve likely read before once or twice. It’s Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1892 story, “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” in which a young mother is prescribed a rest cure during a summer stay in a large Victorian mansion.

This weekend, I asked readers here what they’d like to see more of, and one reader requested some themes or topics to watch for before reading that can help you read more closely as you go.

I’m excited to share some ideas for you today, to help deepen your reading of this classic story.

But a word of caution: much of what makes closely reading so magical is our own personal reckoning with the text. Use the topics and themes below to help you pay attention to the story in specific ways without ignoring your own noticing.

What I’m listing below are only a few ways into the story. You may find your own pathways into meaning—they’re valid, too, and may lead you down roads you never expected!

Themes to watch for

Here are a few general themes in the story to keep track of, if you’d like to deepen the connections you’re finding in the story.

Power dynamics

Watch for how power is established within certain individuals, and how it is taken away from others. Watch for who obviously has social, cultural, or professional power. Watch for who does not.

How does the power dynamic inform the tone of the story? How does power tell us about our characters? Who is the most powerful? Who is the least powerful? In what ways?

Mental health

General consensus on this story tells us that “The Yellow Wall-Paper” is a story about postpartum depression. Where do you see that coming through? Do you have personal experience with PPD that might inform how you’re reading the narrator?

What other mental health strains or experiences are evident in the story? How can you tell? Does the narrator seem aware of the state of her mental health? In what ways is she aware? In what ways is she perhaps not? Does it matter?

Decoration & the domestic

The story takes place in a very interesting setting. What do you notice about the house? What do you notice about the decor? What makes the setting so powerful? What makes the yellow wallpaper a key feature of the story?

Why does the narrator become obsessed with the paper? What could the history of the decorative arts or architecture suggest to us about the story? (In other words: why did Gilman select this setting for her story?)

Woman as artist

We’ve discussed many a story and novel about women who are creative artists—either stunted in their effects, like Lily Bart or Edna Pontellier, or successful in their pursuits, like Ellen Olenska.

How does the narrator of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” fit into a lineage of stories about women as artists? Is she an artist? Is she creative? Is she a writer?

Explore her identity beyond her mental health state—see what’s there.

Words to track

Here are a few keywords or terms you may want to pay attention to:

• Color (yellow, especially)

• Mental states and moods: nerves, anxiety, sadness, creative, happy — anything to do with this realm

• Architectural details: any words about the house or how the house looks and feels

• Family: notice the words the narrator uses to describe her family members

A full guide comes out later this week

Later this week, I’ll share my close reading of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” with you, along with a list of critical readings and recommended stories to read, if you liked thinking about this story.

Feel free to use the comments today to add additional themes or imagery you’re noting as you read, and to share what you think of the story (perhaps including your preconceived notions, if you’ve never read before).

‘Til next time, happy reading!