Five days ago we read a horror short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In order to make sure spoilers weren’t put in the comments section I turned that off and instead created this thread. Now the floor is open for discussion. Below are some Wikipedia and other source material notes I found on this particular story that I thought would be fun to know before we dive right in with our thoughts. If you haven’t read the short story, you can do so here.
This story has been with me the last week. It still is, in fact. So much so that my "next" (aka 3rd?) short story collection will be heavily based on what I have learned and imagined while reading this short story. I'm glad we started our journey reading short horror stories with The Yellow Wall-Paper because I've never read it before and it makes me excited for what other undiscovered stories I'll get to read.
If I had to pinpoint the moment(s) of brilliance for me in the story, it has to be the moment when the POV clearly changes from the wife who's slowly going insane to the woman within the walls. Subtle change in wording and these two women are one in the same. Perhaps they were one in the same the whole time?
I have several ideas as well as to how the story might've gone, though it never really seemed to go there. Such as, the husband gaslighting his wife for some reason? Or a woman really does exist in the wall-paper and we discover her husband traps previous wives/women there once he's done with them? I could go on with ideas.
This story has been with me the last week. It still is, in fact. So much so that my "next" (aka 3rd?) short story collection will be heavily based on what I have learned and imagined while reading this short story. I'm glad we started our journey reading short horror stories with The Yellow Wall-Paper because I've never read it before and it makes me excited for what other undiscovered stories I'll get to read.
If I had to pinpoint the moment(s) of brilliance for me in the story, it has to be the moment when the POV clearly changes from the wife who's slowly going insane to the woman within the walls. Subtle change in wording and these two women are one in the same. Perhaps they were one in the same the whole time?
I have several ideas as well as to how the story might've gone, though it never really seemed to go there. Such as, the husband gaslighting his wife for some reason? Or a woman really does exist in the wall-paper and we discover her husband traps previous wives/women there once he's done with them? I could go on with ideas.