Analysis Of The Yellow Wallpaper And Story Of An Hour

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The stories of the Yellow Wallpaper and Story of an Hour are both stories that have deep meaning, and many hidden symbols. In both stories there is a woman who in some way is oppressed by some outside force and must find a way to overcome this oppression. While in both stories the main charcter goes through a different ordeal, The main theme behind these events are the same and the two experiences can compare to eachother. the events match in both women we oppressed by men and portrayed

as the weaker sex, both the woman find a way to cope with the situation, and both stories have a tragic and ironic ending.

The first aspect both stories have in common is the fact that both of the women are oppressed by a man in their life.“The Yellow Wallpaper” provide valuable insight into the ways in which Gilman's story chronicles how women have been socially, historically, and medically constructed as not only weak, but sick beings."(Suess pg.86) In The Yellow Wallpaper the main charvter Jane is going through post pardum depression, but in the time period in which the story takes place this illness was not know. There for the husband feels that she is not fit to take care of herself and locks her in the attic to portector her. In the case of The Story an Hour, the reader never Intinaly does not know that the husband of the story is oppressive. Yet it becomes apparent

to the reader after the husband is thoguht dead and Mrs. Mallard has a chance to think about it. "When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright."(Chopin) She ...

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...me. In shock Mrs. Mallard has heart failure. The doctors, "they said she had died of heart disease-- of joy that kills."(Chopin) This is ironic for the fact that it would first be the mind set of the men at the time. there could be no other reason for her heart to stop but out of joy of seeing her husband, But the truth was her heart stopped due to the fact that everything

she had planned to do with her life she now had to abandon. She was back in the one thing she had been so happy to cast off and she could not take it.

In conclusion both stories share many similatries a oppressive

husband and woman who i looked upon as weaker. Although both of women are place in different sistuations they both learn to have realizations in these situstions. While they also both share a Ironic ending In the story of

The Yellow Wallpaper the irony is more sweet than tragic.

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