Despite several debates in a short story called The Yellow Wallpaper, the central conflict is the opposition between society and a woman. This struggle of two concepts reflects modern problems as well.
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Several conflicts are going on in The Yellow Wallpaper. However, the primary one concerns the struggle between a woman and society. The main character lives in a place that she thinks is corrupted. Her surroundings do not treat her the way she wants to be treated. The woman was diagnosed with a mental illness, which is likely to be postpartum depression. The narrator should not have any mental stimulation. She cannot read or write, communicate with other people, or even think about anything very much.
Therefore, her husband and brother control her as they consider her sick. They attempt to save an ill woman and think of their interventions as an excellent treatment for her. They do not take what she needs and wants into consideration. Her husband and brother make her believe that her thoughts do not represent reality. Moreover, they do not want her to have a personal opinion on anything. The only idea for her to accept is that of the men who care for her, and she must adapt to it whether she wants it.
Here, a reader can observe a Self VS. Woman conflict. When society revealed to her that she was crazy, she could not trust her thoughts. The woman had to give men total control over her life. She struggled to keep her sanity and decide for herself what was authentic. It turns out that she gradually realizes her weakness and, trying to suppress this newfound awareness, slides further.