The first time I read ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ at university, I admired it.

The second time, it genuinely unsettled me. I vividly remember getting goosebumps when the narrator looks out of the window.

The story definitely opened my eyes to Victorian attitudes towards women’s mental health. It’s led me down several rabbit-holes, both literary and non-fiction, since.

Today though, there’s one sentence which catches my attention.

“He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction.”

At least as reported by our narrator, John sincerely believes he’s caring for his wife.

Control doesn’t always arrive wearing the face of tyranny. Sometimes it arrives wearing the face of kindness, certainty, and good intentions.

Perhaps that’s why ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ still feels so modern. It reminds us that love without respect for another person’s judgement and independence can become something very different indeed.

Some stories don’t become less frightening with age.

They become more recognisable.

Join the conversation: tell me about a text you’ve read in which someone ‘kills with kindness’.