Self-Destructive Self-Expression in The Yellow WallpaperIn "The Yellow Wallpaper", a story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the conflict focuses on the protagonist's inability to maintain his sanity in society which does not recognize her as an individual. Her husband and brother both exert their own will over hers, forcing her to conform to their predefined impression of an appropriate code of behavior for a sick woman. He was given “a time prescription for each hour of the day; [John] takes care of me” (155). This code of behavior involves virtually no effort of one's free will. Rather, she is expected to passively accept the fact that her own ideas are fantasy and that only the opinions of the men in her life can be trusted. She is expected to take her own ill-informed opinions about his mental state over his own. While “Wallpaper” presents a powerful argument for the feminist movement, the real issue behind the conflict is even more fundamental: the resilience of the human will in the face of social denial. the oppressive environment that surrounds women. Throughout the story, the author traces the woman's mental deterioration, from a normal but weakened sense of self to a complete inversion of her ego. She slowly reverses the direction of her place in society, turning away from society completely in order to create a world where she can act of her own will. In order to depict the stages of her gradually deteriorating state of mind, the author represents the woman's struggles through a parallel with her vision of the wallpaper. The wallpaper is at first glance an apparent inversion of the woman's spirit, but it is gradually...... middle of paper ...... leasantville: Reader's Digest, 1977. 195-206.Golden, Catherine, ed. The imagination captivates: a casebook on "Yellow wallpaper". New York: Feminist Press, 1992 Kasmer, Lisa. ““The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: a symptomatic reading. » Literature and psychology. 36, (1990): 1-15. Kessler, Carol Parley. "Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935." Modern American Writers. Ed. Elaine Showalter, et al. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991. 155 -169.Owens, E. Suzanne. “The ghostly double behind the wallpaper in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. » Scharnhorst, Gary. “Gilman.” Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. 209-210. Wagner-Martin, Linda. “The yellow wallpaper.” Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. 981- 982.