The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“This wallpaper has a kind of sub-pattern in a different shade, a particularly irritating one, for you can only see it in certain lights, and not clearly then. But in the places where it isn't faded and where the sun is just so – I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design.”

I stumbled across The Yellow Wallpaper about a year ago in a really great English course I was taking, and it has since become my all time favourite short story, high praise from someone who's read the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and is terrible at decision making. This story follows the journey of a young but ill woman, completely misunderstood by her husband and doctor, and her time at a summer home attempting to recover. As the story unfolds, we find her becoming more and more aggravated by her surroundings, particularly with the horrid yellow wallpaper, as she quickly falls into complete insanity. There are many reasons people love this story, and it's a particular thrill among feminists (who I generally can't stand, but have to give props for their taste here.) For me, the most fascinating part of this story is the power it exerts over the reader. It may just be me, but I find myself wondering if I've become just as delusional as the narrator by the time the story comes to a close. The craftiness of Gilman implemented in beginning with a character whom we instantly fall in love with, placing us inside her mind, and then allowing her to go insane, never ceases to amaze me. I've never found myself to be too great at writing fiction, but every time that I read The Yellow Wallpaper, I have a strong urge to attempt my own piece utilizing this fascinating technique (as a side note, I've never managed to get anywhere with one, but some day...).
On a less significant note, it's nicely short, so I haven't the slightest apprehension in recommending that everyone I know reads it. After all, who doesn't have an hour or so to invest into such a great piece of literature...

-Robyn