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The story of an hour and regret by kate chopin analysis
The portrayal of women in 19th century literature
The story of an hour and regret by kate chopin analysis
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In Gilman’s story The Yellow Wallpaper, and in Chopin’s story The Story of an Hour are two feminist stories, which freedom is the main theme. In the nineteenth century, women were supposed to take care of their children and obey their husbands. “Women of the mid-19th century had no such choices. Most lived in a state little better than slavery. They had to obey men, because in most cases men held all the resources and women had no independent means of subsistence” (Wojtczak). The Yellow Wallpaper, takes a devastating look at the oppressive relationships between middle class husband and wife, doctor and patient. The Story of an Hour describes a moment of awareness when Mrs. Mallard realizes how she really feels about her life and situation. The news of her husband’s death shocks her into an awareness that seems to overtake her against her will. Mrs. Mallard and the narrator both express they want to be free, but unfortunately they achieve freedom through insanity and death. Freedom is accomplished in an unusual way in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an hour; the freedom these women attained is not readily obtainable to most women in the 19th century. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard received terrible news that her husband has died in a railroad disaster. Mrs. Mallard grieves drastically upon hearing the news of her husbands assumed death. During the grieving process Mrs. Mallard reflects upon the impact of her husband’s death would have on her, she comes to realization that she would now have more freedom, which she did not have in her life with her husband. “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Davis, et al.932). Mrs. Mallard soon realizes that she is truly free... ... middle of paper ... ...ered from postpartum depression, but in the 19th century it was unknown disease. Both husbands in each story resembled each other because they controlled their lives. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator’s husband had control over her physically and mentally. In The Story of an Hour, Mr. Mallard had power over her body and soul. In the end Mrs. Mallard and the narrator both gained control of their own lives without the control of their husbands. Mrs. Mallard and the narrator both express they want to be free, but unfortunately they achieve freedom through insanity and death. Works Cited Davis, Paul, et al. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature The Nineteenth Century, 1650-1800. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. Print Wojtczak, Helena. Women’s Status in MID 19th-Century England. Web. 29 April 2014. http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/history/19/overview.htm
“The Yellow Wallpaper” was a groundbreaking piece for its time. It not only expressed feministic views through the defiance of a male but also discussed mental illness and the inefficacy of medical treatment at the time. This fictional piece questioned and challenged the submissive role forced upon women of the 19th century and disclosed some of the mental struggles one might go through during this time of questing. Gilman shows however that even in the most horrific struggle to overcome male dominance, it is possible. She herself escapes which again shows a feminist empowerment to end the
On the surface, the protagonists of Silko's "Yellow Woman" and Chopin's "Story of an Hour" seem to have little in common. Yet upon closer inspection, both stories relate tales of women who are repressed by the social tenets that define their roles as wives.
In their works, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin show that freedom was not universal in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The three works, "The Yellow Wallpaper," "At the 'Cadian Ball," and "The Storm" expose the oppression of women by society. This works also illustrate that those women who were passive in the face of this oppression risk losing not only their identity, but their sanity as well.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of the Hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” are viewed from a woman’s perspective in the nineteenth century. They show the issues on how they are confined to the house. That they are to be stay at home wives and let the husband earn the household income. These stories are both written by American women and how their marriage was brought about. Their husbands were very controlling and treated them more like children instead of their wives. In the nineteenth century their behavior was considered normal at the time. In “The Story of the Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” both women explore their issues on wanting to be free from the control of their husband’s.
At the time Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” she was considered a prominent feminist writer. This piece of background information allows the readers to see Gilman’s views on women’s rights and roles in the 18th century; “The Yellow Wallpaper” suggests that women in the 18th century were suppressed into society’s marital gender roles. Gilman uses the setting and figurative language, such as symbolism, imagery, and metaphors to convey the theme across.
The Garden of Earthly Delights painted by Hieronymus Bosch, depicts many vivid fictional scenes in triptych style. The right wing of the triptych depicts Hell and the causes of man's downfall, which Dante wrote about in the Inferno. Dante tries to convey to all humanity the consequences of human actions and the levels of hell that he believes exist for different levels of sins. Dante divides Hell up into ten different circles, and there is an upper and a lower level of Hell. Dante and Bosch have similar views on the evil within people and this evil is represented in their works, whether it transpires in a painting or in a book.
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.
“Men weren't really the enemy - they were fellow victims suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill.” (quotegarden) As changes in industry and lifestyle swept the nation in the mid-nineteenth century, questions regarding women’s place in society started to arise. This prompted many women to reevaluate their positions in their own lives. At the time, women were dominantly domestic figures, residing in the house to matronly care for children and tend to household duties not to be bothered with by the husband. It is important to note that men in this century were raised and cultivated to have a certain view of women, so they are not actually malicious as some might view them, they are simply products of their environment. It just so happened that women drew the metaphorical “short stick”. Socially and politically, women were not independent. The only voice they had was through their husbands, and relationships and ideas shared with other women at this time were thought to be nothing more than domestic chatter, not to be taken seriously. The only exception to this widely accepted rule was, of course, a widow. She was not tied to a husband or father, or any male for that matter, so she had more freedom over not only her estate but her personal life as well. This is the situation Louise Mallard finds herself in in Kate Chopin’s short story, The Story of an Hour. Chopin illustrates the woman’s newfound feelings of pure freedom that come with the death of her husband and helps readers to understand the oppression felt by women during this time period using Mrs. Mallard’s view on her marriage and her intense emotions, along with the inner conflict she feels. ...
The Count of Monte Cristo is a book written by Alexandre Dumas that shows the limits of justice in human society, the power of perseverance and the influence of vengeance. Edmond Dantes was betrayed by his friends and sent to prison for treason, which he was framed of doing. While he was in prison, a priest named Abbe Faria mentored Edmond and taught him several different languages, politics and economics. He eventually escaped prison posing himself as a dead body to be tossed out into the sea, found a great fortune, and served personal vengeance to his hostile betrayers. From a sailor to a wealthy Count, this story shows how injustice can bring good things, and the lawbreakers will not live without any consequences.
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.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, it talks about marriage and a woman’s life in the 1800’s. This story illustrates the stifling nature of a woman’s role during this time through Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death. When Mrs. Mallard obtains news that her husband is dead, she is hurt after a brief moment and then she is delighted with the thought of freedom. This story shows how life was in the mid 1800’s and how women were treated around that time.
Women have been mistreated, enchained and dominated by men for most part of the human history. Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was great inequality between the social and economic conditions of men and women (Pearson Education). The battle for women's emancipation, however, had started in 1848 by the first women's rights convention, which was led by some remarkable and brave women (Pearson Education). One of the most notable feminists of that period was the writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was also one of the most influential feminists who felt strongly about and spoke frequently on the nineteenth-century lives for women. Her short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" characterizes the condition of women of the nineteenth century through the main character’s life and actions in the text. It is considered to be one of the most influential pieces because of its realism and prime examples of treatment of women in that time. This essay analyzes issues the protagonist goes through while she is trying to break the element of barter from her marriage and love with her husband. This relationship status was very common between nineteenth-century women and their husbands.
Advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men, Charlotte Perkins Gilman speaks to the “female condition” in her 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by writing about the life of a woman and what caused her to lose her sanity. The narrator goes crazy due partially to her prescribed role as a woman in 1892 being severely limited. One example is her being forbidden by her husband to “work” which includes working and writing. This restricts her from begin able to express how she truly feels. While she is forbidden to work her husband on the other hand is still able to do his job as a physician. This makes the narrator inferior to her husband and males in general. The narrator is unable to be who she wants, do what she wants, and say what she wants without her husband’s permission. This causes the narrator to feel trapped and have no way out, except through the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom.
In comparing the three authors and the literary works of women authors Kate Chopin (1850 -1904), The Awakening, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's (1860-1935), The Yellow Wallpaper, and Edith Wharton's (1862-1937) Souls Belated, a good number common social issues related to women are brought to light and though subtly pointed out are an outcry against the conventions of the time. In these three stories, which were written between 1899 and 1913, the era was a time in which it seems, that women had finally awaken to realize their social oppression and were becoming rebellious in their pursuit of freedom from the male-dominated societal convention in which they existed. They commenced viewing their social stature as unjustly inferior and realized that these conventions placed deterrents on their intellectual and personal growth, and on their freedom to function as an independent person. All three of these women authors have by their literary works, have voiced their strong unfavorable feelings about the patriarchal society in which they lived.
The wife of Brently Mallard, a character in "The Story of An Hour," displays hope and despair. As she sits by a window in her room, thinking about her husband's death, an unexpected feeling comes over her. A feeling of freedom overwhelms her. "She said it over and over under her breath: `free, free, free!'" She envisions the moment she will see his dead body. She knows she will cry then; "but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely." Her hopes for a happier future are demolished when her husband walks through the door, and she realizes that he is very much alive. Mrs. Mallard collapses. "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease." However, despair is seemingly the fatal disease.