Deanna Solis
Dr. Kathryn Klein
ENGL 2328
18 September 2015
Story of Two If we go back in time we can analyze that woman have always been held below men. In the past the only essentials people had to keep record were a pen and a paper so authors used these tools to keep record of events going on the era. In the story, “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wall-paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman two women are subordinated by their own husbands showing how gender play a role in marriages. The character from “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard, find out her husband has been involved in an accident and although the news saddens her she is also quite optimistic of what is yet to come. In Comparison, the character from “The Yellow Wall-paper”,
Comparing Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'
"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour" are two very similar stories. Both deal with middle-aged women who long to attain their freedom. They share the same theme, but convey the message differently in terms of style and quality. The two stories are about women who are fighting for freedom, happiness, and the ability to be truly expressive in any way possible.
Throughout history, women have had to continuously fight for their rights and equality in society. Women have fought to separate themselves from their controlling husbands, fought to become independently accepted and have fought to create their own destiny. Within their short stories, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin address this search for freedom and independence. Chopin’s publication of “The Story of an Hour” in 1894 was not far behind Gilman’s publication of “The Yellow Wallpaper” in 1892. During this time period, women were starting to fight for more social rights and social equality. Both stories analyze the social standards of this time and the oppression of women by men.
Both the narrator and Mrs. Marroner are searching for peace in her male conquered world. The narrator of the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, is symbolic for all women in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, a prisoner of a confining society. Just like society, her husband, John, controls and determines much of what his wife should or should not do, leaving her incapable of making her own decisions. Because he is a man and a physician of high standing, she accepts his orders. When reflecting on men’s behavior, Hausman said, “Gilman tried to prove that what the men think is a biologically ordained pattern of behavior was, in fact, a convention specifically related to their society and the biohistorical organization of human culture” (Hausman). Men treated their wives poorly because that is what they experienced in previous generations. Repression of women’s rights in society stereotype that women are fragile. Men believed they should not work and be discouraged from intell...
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers of children. Only with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension comes from men, society, in general, and within a woman herself. Two interesting short stories, “The Yellow Wall-paper" and “The Story of an Hour," focus on a woman’s fix near the turn of the 19th century. This era is especially interesting
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” are both centralized on the feministic views of women coming out to the world. Aside from the many differences within the two short stories, there is also similarities contained in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” such as the same concept of the “rest treatment” was prescribed as medicine to help deal with their sickness, society’s views on the main character’s illness, and both stories parallel in the main character finding freedom in the locked rooms that they contain themselves in.
In the short story “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, there are many symbols that point to one main emotion. Like every symbol in a well written story, a symbol can be very easy to miss during the first reading. This is why the story must be read many times to truly understand and comprehend the symbolism involved in the plot. Symbolism is a key element in great works. Like Mrs. Mallard’s hidden emotions and feelings, it is often entwined in the reading through objects, people, and places. In this story, there are three important symbols that, if recognized, will allow a reader to enjoy the plot to the fullest extent. These three symbols are the open window, the nature outside, and the features of Mrs. Mallard herself.
Mrs. Mallard in 'The story of an hour', is a woman that has had to live her life composed and in control as the wife of her husband, Brently Mallard. Chopin details Mrs. Mallard's reaction to the news of her husband's death with convolted emotions that were considered appropraite and yet horrifying to the reader. At the end of the story, her death came as no surprise.
Given Mrs.Mallard's reaction to her husband's death, we realize that she was extremely unhappy in her marriage. Though the narrator’s bigger problem in "The Yellow Wallpaper" was her nervous depression as a result of becoming a mother, her hatred towards the particular yellow wallpaper heightens it. It appears that each
The symbols and imagery used by Kate Chopin's in “The Story of an Hour” give the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard’s new life appearing before her through her view of an “open window” (para. 4). Louise Mallard experiences what most individuals long for throughout their lives; freedom and happiness. By spending an hour in a “comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4) in front of an open window, she undergoes a transformation that makes her understand the importance of her freedom. The author's use of Spring time imagery also creates a sense of renewal that captures the author's idea that Mrs. Mallard was set free after the news of her husband's death.
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers and nurturers of the children. Only recently with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. Two interesting short stories, “The Yellow Wall-paper and “The Story of an Hour, “ focus on a woman’s plight near the turn of the 19th century. This era is especially interesting because it is a time in modern society when women were still treated as second class citizens. The two main characters in these stories show similarities, but they are also remarkably different in the ways they deal with their problems and life in general. These two characters will be examined to note the commonalities and differences. Although the two characters are similar in some ways, it will be shown that the woman in the “The Story of an Hour” is a stronger character based on the two important criteria of rationality and freedom.
The time period, season, location, and surroundings of a character reveal a great deal about them. Kate Chopin's "The Story of An Hour" is an excellent example of how setting affects the reader's perception of the story. There is an enormous amount of symbolism expressed through the element of setting in this short story. So well, in fact, that words are hardly necessary to descriptively tell the story of Mrs. Mallard's hour of freedom. Analyzing the setting for "The Story of An Hour" will give a more complete understanding of the story itself. There are many individual parts that, when explained and pieced together, will both justify Mrs. Mallard's attitude and actions toward her husband's death and provide a visual expression of her steadily changing feelings throughout the story.
Although both protagonists in the stories go through a psychological disorder that turns their lives upside down, they find ways to feel content once again. In Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," a nervous wife, an overprotective husband, and a large, damp room covered in musty wallpaper all play important roles in driving the wife insane. Gilman's masterful use of not only the setting, both time and place, but also of first person point of view, allows the reader to process the woman's growing insanity. The narrator develops a very intimate relationship with the yellow wallpaper throughout the story, as it is her constant companion. Her initial reaction to it is a feeling of hatred; she dislikes the color and despises the pattern, but does not attribute anything peculiar to it. Two weeks into their stay she begins to project a sort of personality onto the paper, so she studies the pattern more closely, noticing for the first time “a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design” (Gilman). At this point, her madness is vague, but becoming more defined, because although the figure that she sees behind the pattern has no solid shape, she dwells on it and
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Louise Mallard suffers from many different emotions after hearing about her husband’s death. Her husband Brently was reported to have died after a railroad incident. Mrs. Mallard has suffered from heart issues, but shortly after hearing about the death of her husband they started to get worse. The author uses symbolism throughout the short story by using objects to symbolize her new beginnings. Kate Chopin symbolizes the theme by experiencing her personal freedom. In the short story after Mrs. Mallard’s husband dies she finds her new self and independence. Instead of being overpowered by her husband, she is now able to live more freely and without burden. The symbolism in this story is represented immediately
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.