Customer Reviews (1)

Authoritative
This slender casebook of an academic search represents the first authoritative text of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wall-Paper since it was originally published in 1892.It includes book reviews and excerpts of literary and social commentaries that reflect the story's critical reception; it publishes lists of editorial emendations and variants of the story in important editions since 1892 and it gives a listing of textual sources for more than one hundred reprintings of the story in anthologies and textbooks.

The enterprise, itself, deserves recognition for its prodigious and painstaking scholarship and meticulous editing.A product of an undergraduate course on scholarly editing, Julie Bates Dock gave her class a "simple collation exercise" on Gilman's The Yellow Wall-Paper.Students and teacher alike became more and more enthused as they searched for relationships among various editions of the story.This enthusiasm resulted in a collaborative publication by Julie Bates Dock and three of her students.

In a chapter entitled The Legend of The Yellow Wall-Paper, Dock not only recounts how the story has become one of literature's perennial bestsellers, but also warn us that "in its twenty-five-year odyssey of rediscovery by literary critics...the story has picked up along the way an assortment of blemishes and distortions, from textual anomalies to skewed accounts of its publication history to misinformation about its contemporary reception."This should be enough to make any academic want to research its history.

The evidence of casual distortions that change the import of original texts as shown in the present case emphasizes the importance of textual criticism and traditional modes of criticism.Dock says, "...the use of documents is affected by critical trends and by critics' biases and expectations...The feminist critics of the early 1970s, intent on establishing women authors in the American literary canon, had a stake in portraying the story as a victimized piece of literature.The notion that Gilman suffered condemnation from editors and readers outside the story tidily echoed the narrator's victimization within the story."Dock then goes on to cite two examples where major feminist critics came to unexamined and hasty conclusions about the publication of the story.

Dock also provides evidence to argue that omission of a few words distorts Gilman's focus.For example, the words, "in marriage," in the sentence, "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that (in marriage)."Gilman was against the institution of marriage, but not necessarily against men in general!

Legends that Gilman had to struggle to get her story published, that most readers thought of it as a "ghost story," that it received an especially distasteful reception from the male medical community are also put to rest, as evidence simply does not support these beliefs.

Dock also points out discrepancies in Gioman's own accounts as well, such as her inaccurate and varying dates and titles as well as her claim that Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, her own physician, altered his treatment of neurasthenia after reading The Yellow Wall-Paper.This is, as Dock points out, a case of "he says/she says conundrums."

The book is wonderfully embellished with photographs of Charlotte Perkins Stetson, W.D. Howells, Horace E. Scudder and Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, as well as with other visuals.

The book also cites interesting excerpts from Gilman's autobiography, The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Correspondence.It explains or compiles painstaking commentaries on textual matters, selection of copy, publication history, authorial practice and preference, editorial emendations and many other publication matters as well as reviews of the story which appeared in various magazines.The Appendix provides a history of the printing of The Yellow Wall-Paper from 1892 until 1997.

This is a scholarly book, to be sure, but it is one that is also extremely interesting.In addition to learning the history of The Yellow Wall-Paper, we also learn much about Gilman's motivations, her aesthetics of writing and her own views on both marriage and men. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the best Gilman books available
If you are researching the life and work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman this book will be an incredible resource for you. The author of the book does a great job of presenting historical context that shaped Gilman's attitudes. Details of Gilman's life are insightful and useful for connecting her life with her works of both fiction and nonfiction. And, the reason that this is one of the best books about Gilman is that it provides a very straight-forward and concise outline of her philosophies concerning socialism and feminism. Overall, this has been the most useful and insightful book about Gilman that I have found so far, and I would highly recommend that if you are doing research about her, start with this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent collection.
I bought this book hoping to find an essay or two for a college class I'm teaching. The book was so fascinating, I'm going to end up using more of it than I thought. Originally, I was going to photocopy the essays, now I'm just going to have my students buy the book. I would have given it 5 stars except for the "considerable repetition" mentioned above. What is strongest about this book is the different perspectives that it employs. ... Read more

Book Description
Known to her contemporaries as a fervent advocate of reform on social, economic, and religious fronts, designated an "optimist reformer" by William Dean Howells, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) today is celebrated more as a writer of novels and short stories, particularly Herland and The Yellow Wallpaper, than as the author of the many social and political essays that originally made her so prominent. The essayists in this spirited volume return to Gilman's primary focus by reminding us that the main purpose of her writing was reform.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Optimist Reformer looks at Gilman's legacy for women at the end of the twentieth century; in doing so its contributors reassess both her reformist ideas and our own views on fin de sicle feminism. Gilman scholarship has indeed moved on from the much needed recovery of her work to more critical treatments that allow us to acknowledge elements now regarded as unacceptable. As a result, the essayists here reappraise Gilman and her writings in ways that directly address hithertofore overlooked points, such as her racism, her almost willful disregard of issues of class, and her broadly essentialist view of women.

The effect of this collection is thus twofold: Gilman and her works are both reassessed in light of current feminist thought and presented in the context of her own time. A constant theme is the recognition of her unwavering belief that things could be changed for the better; it is this persistent optimism that made her such a forceful voice for reform. Thus the essayists demonstrate that engagement with Gilman's reformist views is still pertinent for feminist debate today.

Contributors include: Jill Rudd, Val Gough, Ann J. Lane, Lisa Ganobcsik-Williams, Frederick Wegener, Katharine Cockin, Marie T. Farr, Yvonne Gaudelius, Deborah M. de Simone, Naomi B Zauderer, Judith A. Allen, Sandra M. Gilbert, Susan Gubar, Karen Stevenson, Catherine Golden, and Denise D. Knight. ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's newly discovered last major novel spoofs detective novels and challenges the hidden shame of domestic abuse years before it was a public issue. Wade Vaughn, a sadistic attorney, is murdered by five different methods--and leaves behind a long list of potential perpetrators.Detective team Jim and Bessie Hunt pick their way through their investigation, turning up a surprise heroine, disabled Jacqueline "Jack" Warner, whose journal--Gilman-style (The Yellow Wall-Paper)--reveals not only Vaughn's final moments but also the abuse that has been hidden in his family despite the deaths of two of its female members. A historical landmark, a mystery, a comedy, and a social statement, all in one!Book Description
   Written in the late 1920s and never before published, this mystery by the author of such early feminist classics as The Yellow Wall-Paper is a major literary find. Gilman's first and only detective novel recounts the murder of a pernicious attorney who has been shot, stabbed, bludgeoned, strangled and poisoned. The husband-and-wife detective team present a model of true partnership, while the unfolding details of the case offer poignant evidence of the injustice that poor and powerless women can suffer at the hands of a brutal man. Gilman weaves her case for women's freedom and empowerment into a mystery rich in twists and turns, colorful characters, red herrings, suspense and wry humor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

a lost literary gem from Charlotte P.Gilman
here's the text from the back of the paperback edition:

"Written in the late 1920's, this long-lost mystery by the author of such early feminist classics as The Yellow Wall-paper is a major literary find.Gilman's first and only detective novel spoofs the genre as it deconstructs the murder of a pernicious attorney who has been shot,stabbed,bludgeoned, strangled, and poisoned!The feisty husband-and-wife detective team that solves the murder presents a model of true partnership, while the unfolding details of the case offer poignant evidence of the injustice that poor and powerless women can suffer at the hands of a brutal man.Gilman weaves a case for women's freedom and empowerment into a mystery rich in twists and turns, colorful characters, red herrings, suspense, and wry humor."

There you have it, a lost classic from Charlotte Perkins Gilman.What are you waiting for? Get this little gem of a book, and discovery a forgotten 'classic in the making'.

A vintage whodunit
A vintage whodunit, this book includes wry humour, a subtle feminist commentary regarding women in 1920's society & even a butler! The story is a thoroughly enjoyable diversion (particularly needed in recent weeks). An excellent choice for Charlotte Perkins Gilman fans & anyone who enjoys a good mystery. ... Read more

Book Description
Originally serialized in 1915 in The Forerunner, and never before published in book form, The Dress of Women presents Gilman's feminist sociological analysis of clothing in modern society. Gilman explores the social and functional basis for clothing, excavates the symbolic role of women's clothing in patriarchal societies, and, among other things, explicates the aesthetic and economic principles of socially responsible clothing design. The introduction, by Hill and Deegan, situates The Dress of Women within Gilman's intellectual work as a sociologist, and relates her sociological ideas to the themes she developed in some of her other works. Although written in 1915, Gilman's treatment of clothing and dress remains relevant. This pioneering effort adds substantially to Gilman's reputation as a sociological theorist and feminist. In addition, it represents one of the earliest full-length specifically sociological analyses of clothing and the fashion industry. Ultimately, the author concludes that harmful and degrading aspects of women's dress are amenable to reform if men and women will work together rationally to change the controlling institutional patterns of the society in which they live. This groundbreaking work will appeal to those interested in Gilman, feminist theory, sociological theory, social psychology, women's literature, and women's studies. ... Read more

Book Description
Two works in one, this volume contains the full text of With Her in Ourland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as well as an illuminating sociological analysis by Mary Jo Deegan with the assistance of Michael R. Hill. Ourland is the sequel to Gilman's acclaimed feminist utopian novel Herland; both were published in her journal, The Forerunner, in 1915 and 1916. Ourland resumes the adventures of Herland's protagonists, Ellador and Van, but turns from utopian fantasy to a challenging analysis of contemporary social fissures in his land, or the real world. The republication of Herland as a separate novel in 1979 revived critical interest in Gilman's work but truncated the larger aims implicit in the Herland/Ourland saga, leaving an erroneous understanding of Gilman's other/better half of the story, in which it is suggested that strong women can resocialize men to be nurturant and cooperative. Gilman's choice of a sexually integrated society in With Her in Ourland provides us with her answer to her ideal society, but her foray into a woman-only society as a corrective to a male dominated one is a controversial option. The challenging message of Ourland, however, does not impede the pleasure of reading it as a novel. Though known more for her fiction today, Gilman in her time was a recognized and accomplished sociologist who admired Lester F. Ward and frequently visited Jane Addams of Chicago's Hull-House. The male protagonist in Herland/Ourland, Van, is a sociologist, used by Gilman as a foil on which to skewer the assumptions and practices of patriarchal sociology. The interpretation presented here, which adopts a sociological viewpoint, is invaluable reading for scholars and students of sociology, American women's studies, and utopian literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

To hell with dusty "women's studies collections."
WHAT!?"Appropriate for academic and women's studies collections" sounds like the kiss of death for a literary work, and that should not happen to Benigna Machiavelli.This utterly delightful work was passed to me by a (male) friend and, well, ok, I confess it sat on my shelf for months while I continued with my usual fare of crime, warfare, and science fiction.Then one day it was raining too hard to go out and I ran out of books.This is something I usually take great care to prevent as I love a good yarn when I have the time, usually a good "feisty" yarn.In desperation I picked Benigna up and started to read . . . and was hooked.Ms. Gilman clearly understands and delights in the human situation.She describes a young girl facing and solving the problems of her day with wit and humor that goes way beyond her gender. So I say, "To hell with dusty "women's studies collections." This is a great read for anyone with even a smidgeon of interest in the workings of the human mind, and it is an especially great read for any man interested in women.

Brilliant, delightful, funny
This work by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is the fictional memoir of a girl grown to womanhood on her own terms. At an early age she decides to become a "good villian" and use her considerable intellect and common sense to make her own life, and the lives of those around her, better. The heroine of the story tackles everything, from obtaining supplies for her school, saving her sister from a would-be seducer, and rescuing the family from their own abusive father, to running her own boarding house, matchmaking for her sister, and helping her mother heal and grow. She succeeds, with wit and style. And Charlotte Perkins Gilman succeeds in creating a highly readable work that both teaches and heals the reader by portraying a better way of life, without preaching. ... Read more

Book Description
First published in 1892, The Yellow Wall-Paper is written as the secret journal of a woman who, failing to relish the joys of marriage and motherhood, is sentenced to a country rest cure. Though she longs to write, her husband and doctor forbid it, prescribing instead complete passivity. In the involuntary confinement of her bedroom, the hero creates a reality of her own beyond the hypnotic pattern of the faded yellow wallpaper – a pattern that has come to symbolize her own imprisonment. Narrated with superb psychological and dramatic precision, The Yellow Wall-Paper stands out not only for the imaginative authenticity with which it depicts one woman's descent into insanity, but also for the power of its testimony to the importance of freedom and self-empowerment for women.

Suggested for course use in:
Family studies
Feminist thought
History of medicine
19th-century U.S. literature
Psychology

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935) was a feminist writer, lecturer, and activist. Her many other works include Herland and Women and Economics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Feminist dribble and inane ramblings
I had the misfortune of having to read this book as part of my A-level studies whilst at school and as many school children in England in the early 1990s will agree it was 'the' worst book to force young minds to read.The main character is so tediously dull that I did have a miniscule amount of empathy for her to end it all, but my desire was based more upon the fact that it would mean the end of the very dull story.It's yellow wallpaper for goodness sakes.Don't read into it that this is something deep and meaningful, because it isn't.If you're like me you won't care about the character's, you'll just wish that you were not reading about them. This is the 19th century version of MTV, you will be left feeling empty, like you just wasted a few hours of your life on something not worthy of it.do yourselves a favour, if you get anything from this book it's this.Write a load of mindless drivel, leave it to some socially challenged critics to make something out of nothing and you'll be on to a winner.In 100 years time kids will be forced to read it in schools and they'll probably hate you for it, but you won't care because you'll be long gone.As should be the case with the book!

The (yellow) walls are closing in...
I found this story to be both very disturbing and at the same time wonderful in its skill of disturbance.The suspense of what would happen to the narrator was as omnipresent and looming as the wall-paper which surrounded the narrator herself.

The tale contains evidence of the romantic era (a speaker who suffers and a seeming element of the supernatural), but provides even more substance rooted in the realistic realm:excessively fine details, objects that become symbolic (none more clearly prominent than the imprisoning wall-paper itself), and graphic descriptions that provide a sharp edge to the narrator's plight as she succumbs to insanity.

Ingenious clues were also placed through the story, occasionally leading the reader to momentarily doubt his or her own mental dexterity at following the course of events (such as John's sister's name going from Mary to Jennie to Jane).

However, it is the descriptions of the wall-paper itself which give such a vivid and real impact to the story (such as "the sprawling outlines run off in great slanting waves of optic horror, like a lot of wallowing sea-weeds in full chase," or "the outside pattern is a florid arabesque, reminding one of a fungus").

Gilman's assertive style is also noteworthy for the period it precluded:that of the empowerment of women, both in literature and in society.

The Yellow Wallpaper Review
The book is a classic. Yet, you need a certain taste for certain types of knowledge. Such as women and gender studies. As well as you certainly need to enjoy reading professional opinions.

A Celebrated Chintz
Elaine Hedges provides an excellent and useful introduction to the life and work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman in this affordable, and scrupulously edited, edition of what is now her most famous work.She positions this story in the trajectory of Gilman's wrought personal and effusive literary lives and reveals its importance to late-twentieth-century feminism.
Jason Rosenfeld

Imaginative tale of a descent into madness
This short story, based upon the author's own experiences, is a powerful tale of one intelligent woman's struggle with madness, the role of (married) women in society and family in the late 1800s, and how she copes with well-meaning but misguided relatives and their ideas of a woman's nature and abilities. Many consider it an early feminist novel, and I agree, although I would extend the author's message to any group that finds itself severely restricted by society's notions of appropriate behavior, goals, and the nature of the group.
The narrator of the story is, from a modern point of view, a normal, young, married woman who also has a desire to write.However, bound by Victorian mores and restrictions, this desire to write is deemed inappropriate at best and casts questions about her not fulfilling her (only) role as wife (and mother).She was only to focus her attention on "domestic" concerns (house, husband, children) and anything remotely intellectual was considered a threat to her sanity and her physical health.When she refuses to bow to society's (and her husband's) ideas of womanhood, she is confined to a room for COMPLETE rest (meaning NO mental stimulation of any kind, no reading, no writing).What makes matters worse is that her husband (a doctor) is also her jailer, and instead of truly understanding his wife as a human being, opts to follow society's standards instead of doing what is in the best interest of his wife (and her health, both physical and mental).Not surprisingly, she rebels a bit, and continues to write her thoughts in a journal, hiding the journal and pencil from her husband.When her deception is discovered, she is even more strictly confined than before, and denied contact with her children.
It is at this point that she begins her descent into madness--not from the desire to write and express her creativity, but from being denied an outlet for that creativity.She was not mad before she was prescribed complete rest, but rather the complete rest which caused her madness.She begins to imagine things (shapes, objects, animals, people) in the yellow wallpaper which covers the walls of the room to which she is confined.As more restrictions and controls are placed upon her, her imagination grows, until finally she strips the wallpaper to reach the figures, and is found by her husband, surely and completely mad.
I liked this story very much because the author conveyed the kind of dead lives many talented, creative women must have been forced to lead due to society's ideas of women and their abilities while fully backed by the medical profession.She clearly illustrates that in this instance, doctors and husbands do not know best, and that their very best intentions had the precise effect of bringing about the madness that they sought to cure. As I read the story, I wondered why her husband (and the doctor) were so blind as to the causes of her "nervous condition".It obviously was not working, and rather than demonstrating their intelligence by trying something else or, God forbid, asking her what she needed (a couple hours per day to devote to writing, a small thing indeed), continued along the same methods of treatment, only with more restrictions!The social commentary and the commentary on the status of women in society and in their own families is handled in an effective way by the author, not only in her prose but in the development of the characters and the storyline.It is a most persuasive plea of the basic idea of feminism--that women are people too, with talents and abilities outside of their roles as wives and mothers that deserve an opportunity to be developed.In reading this story, I am amazed by how far we as a society have come in changing our views of women, and yet by how much further we have to go.I highly recommend this book.
This book was also made into a show that aired on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre in the late 1980s.I have not been able to find a copy of the program, but remember that it was well-produced and faithful to the story. ... Read more

Book Description
In 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman published her landmark work, The Yellow Wall-Paper, generating spirited debates in literary and political circles on both sides of the Atlantic. Today this story of a young wife and mother succumbing to madness is hailed both as a feminist classic and a key text in the American literary canon.

This sourcebook combines extracts from contemporary documents and critical reviews with incisive commentary, providing:

*an introduction to the political, biographical and medical contexts in which Gilman was writing
*a publishing and critical history of the work with extracts from the earliest reviews through to recent criticism
*a chronology of key biographical and contextual events
*an annotated guide to further reading
*original illustrations and photographs of the author and figures related to the story.

Filled with extensive commentary, as well as contextual and critical materials, this reprint of the complete original text-as published in the New England Magazine in 1892-constitutes an important critical edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect for research
If you are doing research on "The Yellow Wall-Paper" this book is essential. It provides a great amount of context for the piece as well as lots of criticism and interpretation. Of the 20 or so books that I used for research, this was by far the best one. Well worth the investment. ... Read more

Book Description
Attempts to understand recent changes in the canon of American literature through the aid of psychoanalytic theory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Intelligible Marriage ofPsychoanalysis and Politics
Todd McGowan has made a monumental contribution to our understanding of the canon controversies, and done it with an admirable and astonishingbrevity and focus. The readings of particular authors, contextualized with respect to their moment of entry into the canon of literary studies (and with respect to a number of other interesting and provocative issues), are a model of what cultural studies can be, when undertakenby someone with an authentic concern for how literature functions vis-a-vis the social (symbolic) order . What should especiallynot be overlooked,in my opinion,is McGowan's immeasurable --and, again, marvellously condensed-- contribution to our understanding of the dilemmabetween essentialistic, rational, enlightenment-based notions of the self versus postmodern dissolution of the self into what are often celebrated by theorists (of all stripes)todayunder the banner of "multiple subject positions," or some related notion of "discursively-determined subjectivity" (see the last chapter for a terse tour-de-force critique of this dilemma).It must be stressed thatMcGowan's deployment of Lacanian concepts is not obscured by excessive jargon or mathematical abstractions.Henot only wields such terminology with expertise, but makes psychoanalytic concepts intelligible and politically relevant.I highly recommend this excellent book. ... Read more