Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Death of Dreams

While Pa's relationship with Mattie is somewhat antagonistic, that doesn't necessarily make him the antagonist. It's true that he doesn't want her to leave the farm, and it's true that he doesn't understand her love of language, but he eventually accepts Mattie for who she is, which isn't really a true antagonist's style.

The real antagonist, then, is the death of dreams—or if you'd prefer, you can also think of it as the loss of hope. This is what almost prevents Mattie from going to college. Oh, sure, there are logistical problems too, like poverty (Mattie has no money to get to New York) and the status quo (people don't understand why Mattie wants to leave her community and station in life), but these don't pose as much danger as the loss of hope. Strangely enough, it's the physical death of Grace Brown that allows Mattie to regain her hope and pursue her dreams.