15 - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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In this episode, we discuss Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s gothic gut-punch, The Yellow Wallpaper—a claustrophobic descent into isolation, medical misogyny, and one very cursed interior design choice. Expect talk of gaslighting physicians, barred windows, nailed-down beds, and that unforgettable last line.
Spoiler and Content Warning:


We cover the full plot of The Yellow Wallpaper. If you’ve never read it, pause here and come back after. Content include post-partum depression, gaslighting, horrible horror husbands, confinement, suicidal ideation, racism and eugenics, and a descent into madness.
Synopsis:


Published in 1892, Gilman’s psychological horror invites us into the journal of an unnamed woman sequestered in a country estate by her physician-husband, John. Forbidden from “work” (writing), starved of stimulus, and overseen by his compliant sister/housekeeper Jenny, she fixates on the room’s revolting yellow wallpaper—first as an ugly pattern, then as bars, and finally as a trapped, creeping woman she begins to identify with. By the time John forces the door, she is circling the room, “creeping” over his fainted body "every time". Our discussion explores whether the room is effectively a locked ward (barred windows, nailed bed, gate at the stairs), the possibility of toxic wallpaper, and how the story functions as a rebuttal to the rest cure that nearly drove Gilman mad herself.
Palate Cleanser:


Trainwreck docuseries binge (e.g., storming Area 51; “Poop Cruise”). Disaster TV that entertains without plunging you into Victorian despair.
Recommendations:

• Classics of gothic literature like Rebecca; Jane Eyre; The Fall of the House of Usher; The Haunting of Hill House; Mexican Gothic (modern mould horror)
• The Handmaid’s Tale (Series)
• Black Mirror: White Christmas
• American Horror Story: Asylum
• Don’t Worry Darling
• Heretic with Hugh Grant (he has yellow wallpaper!)
• “The Husband Stitch” (Carmen Maria Machado).
• Great Stories with Trev Downey (audio of classic short stories including The Yellow Wallpaper).
•  The Awakening and he Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin
• Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman and Titanic (Cal would be a terrible husband)
• The podcasts Novel Pairings and Breaking Down Patriarchy (both have episodes on The Yellow Wallpaper)
• The Dollop episode on Women in Transportation
• Girl, Interrupted
• Greta Gerwig’s Little Women
• Dickinson (series)
• Sleepwalking (novel)
• Verity (Colleen Hoover) - both bite the bed!

Recommendations:


Next up: Rosemary’s Baby (1968). We’re staying with gaslighting husbands, maternity horror, and lots more yellow. Bonus connection: Mia Farrow is Ronan Farrow’s mum, tying back to our Catch and Kill episode. Watch before the next show. Until then, don’t let anyone spoil your ghostliness.
Credits & Contact


Cover art: Nancy Azano — Instagram: @nancyazano
Intro and outro music: Harry Kidd — Instagram: @harryjkidd 
Email: [email protected]
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