Gilman's most well-known short story/novella, "The Yellow Wallpaper" recounts a woman's descent into madness after her husband/doctor confines her to the room at the top of the house with the stipulation that she not read or write, simply relax and try to overcome this "temporary nervous depression--a slight hysterical tendency." 
 But with nothing to do, the narrator becomes obsessed with the "repellent, almost revolting" yellow wallpaper in her room, and eventually envisions a woman therein that is trying to escape. 
 The horror elements of this story combined with the gravity of the narrator's imprisonment and the implications of the tale's conclusion combine to create a moving piece that haunts you long after you've finished reading.