The Yellow Wallpaper
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- English
- Medium level
- 30 min to read
- Horror
- Short stories
About The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a medium read in English (horror, short stories). It takes about 30 min at 200 words per minute, a comfortable pace for language learners. The book is in the public domain and comes from Project Gutenberg.
When you open it, the text is downloaded once and saved in your browser, so you can keep reading offline and your progress stays on your device.
Main characters in The Yellow Wallpaper
A woman, told by her doctor husband that she needs complete rest, is confined to an upstairs room in a rented house and forbidden to write. She becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper, begins to see a woman trapped behind its pattern and slowly loses her grip on reality.
The narrator
An unnamed woman whose diary entries tell the story as her mental state declines.
John
The narrator's husband and physician, who dismisses her worries as nerves.
Jennie
John's sister, who keeps house and watches over the narrator.
The woman in the wallpaper
The figure the narrator imagines creeping behind the pattern.
Questions about The Yellow Wallpaper
- How many words are in The Yellow Wallpaper?
- The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman has about 6,000 words. At 200 words per minute, a comfortable pace for language learners, it takes about 30 min to read.
- Who are the main characters in The Yellow Wallpaper?
- The main characters are The narrator, John, Jennie and The woman in the wallpaper.
- Can I read The Yellow Wallpaper for free?
- Yes. The Yellow Wallpaper is in the public domain, and you can read it free in English on PolyglotReader with inline translation, word lookup and audio.
The Yellow Wallpaper is more than a book: it is a language-learning tool
Most people learn a language from lessons and word lists that have nothing to do with what they enjoy. Here you learn from a real story. You read The Yellow Wallpaper in English, and every step that helps you understand and remember it is one tap away. The words you meet in the book are the words you practise.
- Read
- Look up
- Listen
- Save
- Practise
- Inline translation
Stay in the original text and check the meaning only when you need to.
- Word lookup
A dictionary entry gives you ten meanings. A contextual lookup gives you the one that fits.
- Audio narration
Hear how the text sounds while your eyes follow the words.
- B1 simplification
Read the book you want now, at a level you can follow, and move up to the original later.
- Flashcards
Practise the words you actually met, in the books you actually chose.
- Word games
Test yourself on the exact sentences you just read.
- My Dictionary
One searchable list of every word you chose to keep, with the meaning you picked.
- Daily goal
A small target you meet every day beats a long session you never get round to.
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Play word games with The Yellow Wallpaper
Reading shows you the words, games make you use them. Press Play in the reading toolbar and PolyglotReader builds short games from the English page you are on, so you practise the vocabulary of The Yellow Wallpaper itself.
Fill the blanks
One word is hidden in a sentence from the page. Pick the right one from four choices.
Type the word
Type the hidden word. The first letter is shown, and Say it lets you hear the word.
Unscramble
The words of a sentence are shuffled. Tap them back into the right order.
Games are made in your browser from the book text, with points, streaks and stars. How the word games work
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