The Yellow Wallpaper

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

July 24, 2020 [1:15 AM — 1:35 AM]

Los Angeles, CA

I had to read this short story twice to fully comprehend what happened at the end (which I won’t ruin here). While the ending was interesting, the actual book also brought up points that deal with women’s mental health during that time, that I know can be applied to how we manage our relationships or treat others in any form of pain in general: we shouldn’t trap them or revoke everything from them as a way to calm them down or help put them to ease, this only makes the pressures inside them build up and eventually it will be released chaotically. An element that also builds pressure is the sense/feeling that there’s no one to go to that will acknowledge your pain and try to support you. Furthermore, not wanting to be a burden on our loved ones can destroy us within ourselves. An error we make is silencing people on their expression of their feelings and using our credibility, authority, merit, or influence/weight to do so. Internal pain and negative thoughts will continue to escalate, whether they are being kept quiet or openly expressed, its best to hear them to fix them rather than be surprised by an outburst as they build up silently; and we find ourselves surprised when the wallpaper has been destroyed.

I can’t help but think about revolutions and rebellions, while this story regards women’s mental health during a historical period it can relate to any entity or individual that was in pain, not being listened to or acknowledged and ending up destroying things after thoughts grew in silence.