The Yellow Wallpaper | Overview

"The Yellow Wallpaper," first published in 1892 in the New England Magazine, is largely considered Gilman's best work of short fiction. The story is a first-person account of a young mother's mental deterioration and is based on Gilman's own experiences with postpartum depression. Like Gilman, the unnamed protagonist of the story is advised—in accordance with the theories of S. Weir Mitchell—to abstain from any and all physical activity and intellectual stimulation. She is not allowed to read, to write, or even to see her new baby. To carry out this treatment, the woman's...

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