Who is the antagonist in the novel, The Girls?

An antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist. Although the antagonist is often a villain of some sort, in Williams’s story the antagonist is Arleen—the most realistic and sympathetic character in the story. Arleen reveals herself as the antagonist when she tells Mommy at the end of the story to get rid of the girls. The girls have thought that she was a silly woman and are shocked to discover that she is their most serious adversary.