At the end of the story, Jane crawls around the room in circles and touches the wallpaper. When John, her husband, faints, she keeps on circling the room. She steps over his inert body every time she passes by.
Detailed answer:
The Yellow Wallpaper is the most significant early work of feminist literature. It presents the author’s view on the physical and psychological well-being of women in the 19th century. The plot centers on a woman placed by her physician husband in a yellow wallpaper room. It was done to cure her postnatal depression. The novel demonstrates the oppressive power of patriarchal order on a woman’s life and its results.
When the narrator’s mental problem gets worse, the story comes to its climax. Jane persuades herself that she is the woman trapped behind the wallpaper. To overcome these obsessive thoughts, she tears off the paper. When Jonh breaks into the room, he sees his wife creeping along the wall. She exclaims, “I’ve got out at last… in spite of you.” Jonh faints, and the narrator continues circling and stepping over her husband. It illustrates the tragic outcome of the poor attitude of the husband toward his wife.