Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Originally Published: 1890
Page Count: 21 pages (on kindle)
As a history student it is rare that I get assigned fictional books to read, so when my module for American History (1865-1989) had this as seminar reading I was so excited to finally be able to fully engross myself in the seminar work for once in my life. Even though I study history I do often respond more to fiction. It gives a sense of author's perspective but more poetically and metaphorically, it gives a sense of time, a sense of emotions, and I think a lot of history professors/lecturers overlook that.
Back to the book - this is a short classic novel documenting one woman's entrapment in a rented-out house's nursery. The character is kept in the room to help her rest and relax, but the story has increasingly creepy elements to it.
There's only so much one can say in a short metaphorical piece of literature and Gilman seems to do it effortlessly; she offers a stream of consciousness that not only can be seen as one woman's descent into madness or depression but also as a metaphor for feminism. The character is repressed, none more so by her husband, John, a physician. The character begins to see things in the ugly wallpaper, she believes there's a code to it, and suddenly she cracks it and is desperate to break the chains and bars that hold her in place.
The whole metaphor of entrapment and emancipation is documented in its final sentence, an ambiguous yet fitting end.
I've seen a lot of people wanting to read many 'bigger' books this year, people wanting to read a certain amount of books, and yet my aim is also to read more of these shorter books, especially if they're classics. I want to be able to immerse myself more in 19th and early 20th century literature and appreciate them because it's something I've rarely done before.
And because of that and the story's fantastic writing, there is only one rating I can award it, and that's: ★★★★★
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