Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)

Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)

Author: Oscar Wilde  |  Page Count: 152*

"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious."

The events in Oscar's play about a 'Good Woman’ occur over a twenty-four hour period in Victorian London. It's a short work, divided into four Acts: the time spent by Lady Windermere and her husband before a coming of age birthday ball hosted by the couple; the party itself; the aftermath; and the resolutions of the following morning/afternoon. That's ample time for drama and scandal to erupt.

The ball is attended by a select gentry, but strip away the mannered social standings and tailored suits and it's like every party everywhere, filled with two-faced gossip, hypocrisy, nonchalance, indignation and unwarranted observations by caustic people who would chide a speaker for doing the same. The self-indulgent concerns of rich-folks could've been a real bore if not for Oscar's piercing wit to spice it up; he made the verbal meanderings of dull people seem exciting. Under attack are the conventions of marriage, among other things.

The Yellow Wall-Paper (1892)

The Yellow Wall-Paper (1892)

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman  |  Page Count: 55

"It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide—plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions."

If you hear the name Charlotte Perkins Gilman spoken outside of critical circles, then it'll more than likely be in reference to The Yellow Wall-Paper. Her most famous work, it constantly overshadows all the others.

It's a short but deeply engaging first person narrative from a woman who, in the eyes of her physician husband, has fulfilled her main role as wife. Being of the weaker sex means she should quietly do as she's told for her own well-being. Confined to an attic room, with nothing to occupy her sharp intellect, her state of mind slowly deteriorates.

Her husband's cure for her sickness, one that he believes is of her own making, does more harm than good. Left alone she reads, writes and draws comparisons that wouldn't have existed had she been allowed to walk free. The patterned wallpaper is ever-present; its malignant influence is inescapable.