Introduction
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a semi-autobiographical short story by renowned feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It describes a woman’s struggles with mental illness, the psychological disintegration brought on by confinement, and her fight against male dominance and oppressive societal norms. The protagonist’s spiral into insanity is “The Yellow Wallpaper’s” central theme. The tale offers a potent critique of late 19th-century patriarchal society. The main antagonist of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the patriarchal and repressive society, which stifles the protagonist and accelerates her mental decline.
Role of an Antagonist
To ascertain the primary malevolent factor in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” one first needs to define the standards for an antagonist in the story. An antagonist stands in the way of the protagonist’s objectives or welfare. This opposition can affect the protagonist’s life through direct conflict or simply opposing ideas. When choosing an antagonist for the narrative, one must also consider the factors of intent and effect.
The intent of the antagonist refers to the reason and goal behind their actions. The antagonist’s motivations greatly influence how they are portrayed in the story; as such, one needs to distinguish whether these behaviors result from ignorance or genuinely malicious intent. Once the intent has been established, the next step is to discuss how the antagonist’s actions affected the protagonist. The extent of the disturbance to the protagonist’s life cements the antagonist’s position in the narrative.
The Antagonist in Gilman’s Short Story
Based on these criteria, it can be argued that Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” features the patriarchal society as its primary antagonist. The story portrays society’s intention to uphold this hierarchical structure that keeps women dependent. The treatment the protagonist receives from John, as well as the broader context of women’s roles in the late 19th century, makes clear the societal intent. This goal is a persistent adversary that infiltrates the narrative and ultimately drives the protagonist to lose her sanity completely.
Taking place in 19th-century society, the story faithfully depicts a reality in which gender roles are rigidly upheld, perpetuating men’s dominance and relegating women to roles of submission. The main character is confined to a single room in a rental house by her spouse, John. He diagnoses her “nervous condition” and keeps her under strict control(Gilman 29). This is typical of the time when women’s emotions were frequently pathologized and utilized as an excuse for their oppression.
The protagonist has no say in her situation and must confine her thoughts to paper. She writes, “John is a physician, and perhaps—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)—perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster” (Gilman 29). Society’s intention to suppress her autonomy is evident in the fact that she is unable to express her opinions freely because of expectations of female docility.
The protagonist’s seclusion in the nursery room reflects how society wants to remove her freedom. She says that “knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him” (Gilman 31). Her independence is further undermined by John’s assertion of authority in this situation, which denies the validity of her suffering and is representative of the social expectation that wives must adhere to their husbands. The way that John, a doctor, uses his medical authority to gaslight her is another example of how society wants to control her.
Women are expected to be subservient, obedient, and dependent on men according to societal norms. The main character is discouraged from pursuing her passions, which include writing, a source of comfort for her. She admits that John “hates to have (her) write a word” (Gilman 30). Her mental state suffers from the forced inactivity and seclusion that John prescribes, along with the recommended confinement to her bedroom. These hallmarks of the “rest cure” treatment reflect society’s desire to control women’s bodies and minds.
The narrator states, “I am absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until I am well again. Personally, I disagree with their ideas” (Gilman 29). This ban on her doing intellectual or creative activities, or what would be considered her “work,” is a sign that society wants to prevent her from developing intellectually and to keep her in a subservient position. Once again, her argument is ignored, underscoring the power society has over women’s autonomy and its intent to keep it this way.
The effect of the patriarchy can be seen in the protagonist’s decline into insanity, facilitated by both John’s actions and societal norms. Through the constant insistence on her inferiority as a woman, she is ensnared in a room where she sees herself trapped behind the yellow wallpaper, struggling to escape. The main character’s growing fixation on the yellow wall covering expresses her repressed rage toward cultural expectations and her husband’s authority. She describes the wallpaper, saying, “It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw—not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things” (Gilman 38). This description captures her mounting annoyance and the uncomfortable aspects of her confinement.
When the protagonist’s mental state deteriorates to the point where she believes she is the woman trapped behind the wallpaper, it further exemplifies the devastating impact of societal oppression. Her obsession with freeing this fictional woman grows, reflecting her longing to be freed from the constraints of a patriarchal society. “I pulled, and she shook, I shook, and she pulled,” (Gilman 40), she says, expressing her increasing desperation to overcome social norms. In this way, the wallpaper turns into a symbol of the patriarchal society’s repressive force, which progressively saps her sanity.
As the narrative progresses, her mental state worsens to the point where, in a last-ditch effort to free herself, she peels off the wallpaper. She exclaims, “I’ve got out at last, […] I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” (Gilman 42) as she finally spirals into insanity. In this instance, the yellow wallpaper symbolizes societal oppression that has caused such profound psychological damage that the subject feels as though she is the embodiment of her oppression.
It is worth noting that the main antagonist of the narrative is not a specific character but rather the patriarchal society that sustains oppressive customs. The protagonist expresses her powerlessness against patriarchal authority: “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures […] that there is really nothing the matter […] what is one to do? My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing” (Gilman 30). These lines envelop the central conflict of the narrative. It is not just the conflict between the protagonist and her husband, John, but rather a rift between her and the social structure that legitimizes the marginalization and silencing of women. The fact that the narrator’s brother, a doctor, gives her the same contemptuous diagnosis proves that this oppressive system spans the entire society.
Conclusion
To conclude, the main antagonist of Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the patriarchal society that represses the protagonist and causes her mental health to deteriorate. It is shown by the way the protagonist is systematically oppressed, stripped of voice and agency, and reflected by her spiral into insanity. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a chilling story that shows the long-lasting effects of a culture that tries to suppress, dominate, and control its female population.
Work Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Broadview Introduction to Literature, edited by Lisa Chalykoff, Neta Gordon, and Paul Lumsden, Broadview Press, 2018, pp. 29–43.