Structure of Control and Acts of Revolt: A Foucauldian Interpretation of “Omelas” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Abstract

This paper showcases the structure of control and acts of revolt in two stories by Ursula K Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” And Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Here, authority is seen as an internal control mechanism of moral, medical, social norms. This study examines the creation of moral complicity showcased through a suffering child in “Omelas” and claws of paternal patriarchy and medicality used as a form of control in the home space of Gilman. The study is conducted through the lens of qualitative, comparative textual analysis and close reading. Both texts demonstrate resistance in two different forms- ethical withdrawal of Omelas and through psychological rebellion of the victim in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. These texts expose concealed violence within normalised authority, representing resistance as necessary yet partial and challenging. This study demonstrates the usefulness of Foucauldian theory as a way of liberation by analysing authority, obedience, and disciplinary power imposed on all of us.