It's a semi-autobiographical account of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's postpartum psychosis and how her husband's and doctor's sexist demands that she isolate herself from any social or intellectual stimulation only made her mental health even worse. HP Lovecraft claimed this to be one of the most horrifying descents into madness that he had ever read in his life and credited Gilman as a strong inspiration for his own work. I just read this for an English class, and all I could think was how many pounds of flesh I would be willing to sacrifice rather than have my pens, pencils, papers, and word processors taken away.
I really loved that story when I had to read it for a Lit course. It really is a clinic in writing a character's descent into insanity. ETA: What's your interpretation of the ending? There were twenty different opinions in the class I took.
Let me know when you come up with one. I think I was right and everyone else was wrong. (kidding) But I am interested to know your take.
