Love waxes timeless. It is passionate and forbidden, and a true head rush. Marriage, on the other hand, is practical and safe, a ride up the socioeconomic ladder. In "The Other Paris," Mavis Gallant weaves the tale of Carol and Howard, a fictional couple who stand on the verge of a loveless marriage, to symbolize the misguided actions of men and women in the reality of the 1950s, the story's setting. By employing stereotypical, ignorant, and uninteresting characters, Gallant highlights the distinction between reality and imagination. Through the mishaps and lack of passion in their courtship, she mockingly comments on society's views of love and marriage. Gallant portrays both Carol and Howard as ordinary young people with faults and beliefs that follow the accepted practices of society. Like many women in their early twenties, Carol frets incessantly over her age, believing that she will soon be too old for any man to want her. Gallant ridicules the societal standards of age and beauty imposed on women like Carol, which are still prevalent today. Carol is pressured not only by her friends and parents but also by herself to find a suitable man. Her vanity and fear of ending up alone embody societal views toward spinsters as women pining away in some dingy corner. Similarly, Howard also has the same pride as men today. His sister's caution and unwelcome prediction that he will soon be just "a person who fills in at dinner" mortifies the usually quiet and pragmatic Howard. He dislikes the "picture" of himself as an unwanted old bachelor and sets out to remedy the problem. The fact that he does not love Carol, whom he has known for less than three weeks, does not faze him in the least. Following the opinion of the 1950s, Carol, in his mind, becomes his "competent housemaid" who will perhaps collect "old pottery" and bake him "little casserole dishes."
Marriage is an important theme in the stories Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. When someone hears the word “marriage”, he thinks of love and protection but Hurston and Chopin see that differently. According to them, women are trapped in their marriage and they don’t know how to get out of it so they use language devices to prove their points.
Because writing is inherently romantic in nature, throughout the history of literature, we see many authors' insights into the enigmatic and often ambiguous subject of love and relationships. Three short stories penned by three separate American writers deal with such matter: Charlotte Perkins Gillman in "The Yellow Wallpaper", Kate Chopin in "The Storm", and Nathaniel Hawthorne in "Young Goodman Brown." Though the relationships presented in each of these stories are unique in their own persuasion, the same underlying theme runs true in all. At first glance all of these relationships may appear healthy in their existence; however, further introspection uncovers specific maladies which I believe elicit much of the discord which arises within each of these writings. All of the husbands in the aforementioned short stories evoke, though some more subtly than others, varying degrees of conflict.
A History of Marriage by Stephanie Coontz speaks of the recent idealization of marriage based solely on love. Coontz doesn’t defame love, but touches on the many profound aspects that have created and bonded marriages through time. While love is still a large aspect Coontz wants us to see that a marriage needs more solid and less fickle aspects than just love.
From the beginning of fiction, authors have constantly exploited the one topic that is sure to secure an audience: love. From the tragic romance of Tristan and Isolde to the satirical misadventures in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, literature seems obsessed with deciphering the mysteries of affection. The concept most debated is the question of where the line falls between lust and love and what occurs when the two are combined, and few portray it more clearly than Edmund Rostand in his French drama Cyrano de Bergerac. The influence of fickle physical attraction and deep romantic love on each other are explored by the interactions of the four main characters: De Guiche, Christian, Roxane, and Cyrano.
Noble, Peter S. Love and Marriage in Chrétien de Troyes. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1982.
Where Blanche's marriage, to a man whom she dearly loved (Miller 43), proved catastrophic to her, Stella's marriage seems to be fulfilling her...
The writers of Much Ado about Nothing, Wuthering Heights, and A Streetcar Named Desire all incorporate conflict in relationships as reoccurring theme in their texts. There are a number of different forms of relationships in the texts such as marital, romantic and family relationships and they are all presented with complexity by the authors as their opinions on the subject matter will be influenced differently due to the era they live in and their personal experiences. For example, in Much Ado about Nothing marriage is a means of creating a happy ending which is typical in Shakespearean plays but it is also a means of social advancement similarly to Wuthering Heights where couples married to either maintain or advance social class or property and not necessarily because they loved each other, Catherine openly says she wants to marry Edgar because “he will be rich”. In contrary marriage in A Streetcar Named Desire is a means of survival for Stella and Blanch having “lost Belle Reve”.
Within “The Other Paris," Mavis Gallant incorporates literary devices, and characterization of Carol and Howard, a flawed couple of the 1950s struck by the plague of loneliness, and the overwhelming pressure from society to marry. A production of marital events, which was based upon social statuses that altered the terms by which a healthy marriage is defined. Mavis Gallant provides exceptional social commentary through satire, irony, and characterization of the two soon to be married fools.
Brockmeier’s short story represents a damaged marriage between a husband and a wife simply due to a different set of values and interests. Brockmeier reveals that there is a limit to love; husbands and wives will only go so far to continually show love for each other. Furthermore, he reveals that love can change as everything in this ever changing world does. More importantly, Brockmeier exposes the harshness and truth behind marriage and the detrimental effects on the people in the family that are involved. In the end, loving people forever seems too good to be true as affairs and divorces continually occur in the lives of numerous couples in society. However, Brockmeier encourages couples to face problems head on and to keep moving forward in a relationship. In the end, marriage is not a necessity needed to live life fully.
Since the beginning of time, marriage exists as a large part of life. The values of marriage change on a year to year basis and as trends continue to change so will marriage. There have been numerous reasons for marriage throughout time such as arranged, wealth, love or many others. In the 18th century, many marriages were based on one’s class and wealth and not true love. Today, many marriages do not take wealth or class into account they focus on that person’s inner self and love. Marriage exists as an overlying theme throughout Pride and Prejudice and every marriage appears for a different reason.
Through the use of literary devices, Pride and Prejudice reveals Jane Austen’s attitude towards the novel’s theme of true love through the actions of the suitors; the process of courtship in the 1800s articulates characterization, foreshadowing, and irony. The novel opens with the line, “it is a truth acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of wife,” (Austen 1) which foreshadows the conflict of finding a significant other . During the Victorian age, men and women courted others of the same education, wealth, and social status; it was considered uncommon for someone to marry beneath them or to marry for love. Jane Austen uses Elizabeth Bennett’s encounters with different characters of varying social statuses to criticize the traditional class system; she illustrates a revolutionary idea that marriage should be based on love. In the resolution of the plot, Austen demonstrates the perfect qualities in a marriage; she incorporates Aristotle's philosophy of friendship to prove the validity of the having an affectionate relationship.
“There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.
Marriage is a powerful union between two people who vow under oath to love each other for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. This sacred bond is a complicated union; one that can culminate in absolute joy or in utter disarray. One factor that can differentiate between a journey of harmony or calamity is one’s motives. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners, where Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor Mr. Darcy’s love unfolds as her prejudice and his pride abate. Anton Chekhov’s “Anna on the Neck” explores class distinction, as an impecunious young woman marries a wealthy man. Both Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Anton Chekhov’s “Anna on the Neck” utilize
My belief on marriage is a sacred vow taken by two people which joins them in union. Most people carry the belief that marriage should occur only when two people are in love; although this belief is common it is not always the case and people marry for a variety of reasons. In the short story "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin suggests that in the case of Mrs. Mallard and Mr. Mallard, love was not a deciding factor for their reason to get married. Though the response of three readers, one being myself, we will explore the character of Mrs. Mallard and the idea of love in her marriage. Kate Chopin has given little detail about the Mallards and therefore left much to the imagination of the reader. Although there are similarities in details between readers such as: point of view, setting, and character, each reader brings new perspective and ideas. This type of analysis of the text allows a richer and more knowledgeable outlook; not only by enhancing ones own ideas by introducing new ones.
married. However, “for pragmatic reasons, the author’s conclusions favor marriage as the ultimate solution, but her pairings predict happiness” (“Austen, Jane”). Als...