The Story Of An Hour And The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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“The desire to be a free person is very worthwhile. To be free means you are no longer the victim of fear, anger, craving, or suspicion” (Hanh). There are two women who share their thoughts and experiences with freedom through their writing: Kate Chopin in the “The Story of an Hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the “The Yellow Wallpaper”. During the time period in which these short stories occured, women were often looked down upon. In creating these works of literature, these female authors were breaking the stereotype and speaking out against the norm. In each of these story stories a theme of the women in the relationship having a strong desire to become free exists. At the end of the stories, each woman in their own way became free …show more content…

This unique treatment abides by rules of isolation from people and any from of creativity. The wife secretly wrote in her journal “Nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little I am able,—to dress and entertain, and order things” (Chopin 649). The wife was being deprived from everything that she knew and loved; her creativity and even her own newly-born child. The wife goes through a roller-coaster of emotions throughout the story in what her thoughts and beliefs are. In the beginning on the story, the reader could question whether she was really that sick. Her husband, John, restricted her to one room in the house with a ugly mustard yellow wallpaper, which the wife hated. As the days continued, the hatred turn into a weird fascination, which turned into a madness that engulfed the narrator. Since the narrator was restricted only to her room, she didn’t have the luxury of society judging her and her actions; nevertheless, her behavior, if broadcasted to the public, would be harshly criticized. Readers can infer that the wife viewed herself as a confused woman who justed wanted to live a little. She always believe that if she was allowed to express her creative side maybe she would start to feel …show more content…

In the time period in which these works of literature were published, the Progressive Era, was a time of change and speaking out about the problems and finding solutions to those problems. Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman took full advantage and choose to discuss the important issue of women’s rights. These stories took a stand for women and maybe even inspired women during this time to also take a stand. Another similarity that lies within the stories is the main character experiences so type of illness. In “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition. Do to this heart condition, her friends and family members often look down upon her and view her as a weak individual. Chopin writes that “great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death” (1). There is great debate among readers weather it was Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition that played a role in her pasting when she saw that in fact her husband was still alive. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” it is apparent that the wife experiences a difficult time and that maybe she possessed some mental illness. Today, readers can conclude that the wife suffered from postpartum depression, which had not been discovered. As the story progresses, the wife’s insanity progresses with it and by the end

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