genre: short story, fiction
In this powerful short story, a troubled woman is given a “cure” by her doctor husband which is intended to help her melancholy moods after having a baby. This “cure” involves her not seeing anyone, not doing anything with her mind or with her body. Just “rest.” Of course, this cure is exactly the opposite of what our woman needs and thus begins an obsession with the papered walls in her rental home - the only thing she is allowed to see or interact with without being deceptive to her husband.
My brain is a little stunned from reading this. It’s well over a hundred years old but it feels strangely fresh and terrifying. As a woman, she’s told to not think, not to act, just to let her husband make all the decisions because he knows better. And eventually, this loss of any kind of autonomy truly drives her to the brink of her sanity. It’s a super fast read but I feel like I won’t forget the either the beautifully or creepily rendered images.
No comments:
Post a Comment