Wallpaper plays a huge role in “The Yellow Wallpaper” because it refers to how women were trapped in a male-dominated society. For the narrator, the wallpaper is like a trap because it is present everywhere in the story. In the story, the narrator describes the wallpaper by saying, “I never saw worse paper in my life. One of those sprawling, flamboyant models that commit every artistic sin (2). The reader can see this as Gilman actually describes his hatred through the narrator towards a male-dominated society. As the story progresses, the narrator's hatred for wallpaper grows and grows. At the end of the story, the narrator tears away the yellow wallpaper to free the “woman” behind the paper. Although the narrator saw a woman behind the wallpaper, she was actually relieving herself. This tells us that she no longer cares what John thinks nor does his fainting discourage her. She is on the path to true femininity. Gilman writes, "I took out most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" (9). The reader can see the wallpaper as a male-dominated society, so when the narrator tears the paper it means that he is breaking free from the norms of society. The narrator finally establishes herself as a free and independent woman who will bow to no man nor to a society that praises her as such