In many stories the protagonists see themselves differently from the way other people in the story see them. To elaborate this statement we will focus on two stories; the story of an hour by Kate Chopin and the stolen party by Liliana Hecker. In both of these stories the aspect of the protagonist seeing themselves in a different way as opposed to others in the story has been clearly brought out.
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
The story of an hour was written by Kate Chopin in 1894. The protagonist in this story is a woman called Mrs. Louise Mallard who has a heart problem. On learning the news about her husband`s death, her sister Josephine and her husband`s friend Richard are having a hard time in coming up with a way which they will break down the sad news to Mrs. Mallard. This is because she has got a heart problem hence if the message is not communicated in the best way possible severe consequences might follow.
Both her sister and her husband`s friend are worried on the best means to pass this message to her because of her health condition. This is because it is not easy for anyone to hear and accept the news of the death of someone they loved, especially a spouse one has spent many years living together.
That is why her sister, while breaking the news down to her, used broken sentences and veiled hints that revealed the theme of the message but not its real content. We are told that, It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing (Berkove 153). Richard also had to be sure that the message about the death of his friend was true before telling it to the wife.
That is why after receiving the news of his death, he had to assure himself by another telegram. Josephine and Richard at this point see Mrs. Ballard as weak both physically and emotionally thus taking this news is going to be very difficult for her.
On receiving the news, Mrs. Ballard broke down into tears immediately and went to her room to have some time alone. While in the room she discovered that she was not really sad, but instead it is like she became free from her misery and will be able to live the rest of her life for herself and herself alone. In the story we are told that, She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her&&&.
She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free! (Berkove 154). Instead of being sad she felt relieved and free unlike what Josephine and her sister thought. This is because she is the only one who knew the suffering she was undergoing in that marriage and that she did not always love her husband.
The Stolen Party by Liliana Hecker
This story is about a young girl called Rosaura who had been invited by to a friends birthday party. Although Rosaura thought that Luciana was her friend, Rosarias mother thought otherwise. This is because she was their maid and her daughter will not be viewed any different.
However, Rosaura had been spending a lot of time with Luciana, playing together and even helping each other with their homework. She had never felt any negative attitude from her friend or her family and this made her to believe that she was a friend and not the maids daughter and that is why she did not want to moss the party.
Her mother on the other hand thought her daughter was putting herself in a class she did not belong to; the class of the rich. That is why she told her, The problem with you, young lady, is that you like to fart higher than your ass (Gwendolyn 2007). Not trying to kill her hopes, she prepared for her a cute dress to wear in the party and even made her hair to look beautiful.
While at the party, Rosaura felt part and parcel of the occasion because she was interacting well with all the other kids except from the girl with a bow on her hair. This girl clearly stated that she knew all of Luciana friends but did not know Rosaura nor even heard of her. From her talk Rosaura remembered her mothers words and admitted angrily that she was the daughter of an employee who somehow brought down her self esteem.
However her self esteem was rejuvenated when Sefiora Ines asked Rosaura to assist her in serving the food and hotdogs. She even had the privilege of serving the cake which made her feel so powerful. While playing charades all the boys wanted her to be on their teams. All this made this party to be the best one in her life.
While leaving the party every kid was being given a present; a bracelet for a girl and a yoyo for a boy. However, Sefiora Ines did not give Rosaura a bracelet or a yoyo but gave her money and told her, Thank you for all your help, my pet (Gwendolyn 2007). This made Rosaura to finally realize that she was just the daughter of the maid and nothing more. All her thoughts were just a huge illusion.
Works Cited
Berkove, Lawrence . Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour.
American Literary Realism 32.2 (2000): 152-158.
Gwendolyn, Diaz. Women and Power in Argentine Literature. Stories, Interviews, and Critical Essays. Texas. University of Texas Press (2007).
Kate Chopins stories reveal the free female impulses through her fine characters that lived during the days of gender restrictions and repression. It was a time when society believed that only men had sexual desires and women were born to serve men and to carry on the burden of reproduction. Chopin realized that it was her duty to speak out the truth about fair sex and try to establish the right over ones body and soul. Her two stories, The Storm and The Story of an Hour are discussed in this paper to see how well Kate achieves her creative intention.
The Storm is a short story, but it is packed with the strong passion of the protagonist named Calixta. On a stormy day, her husband and her son go out and they find themselves trapped in a store as a heavy storm and rain lash outside. Both the son and his father are anxious about Calixta as she is alone at home. As Calixta tries to collect the clothes from outside and close all windows and doors, a man knocks and seeks shelter from the rain. It was Alcee Laballiere, an old friend of hers. Outside the storm turns wild along with lightning and thunder. The lady gets scared and Alcee holds her tightly, giving her a sense of protection. The physical touch turns into a violent passion. The contact of her warm, palpitating body when he had unthinkingly drawn her into his arms, had aroused all the old-time infatuation and desire for her flesh , says the narrator (Chopin). He kisses her and his old infatuation for her is relived with an uncontrollable desire to ease his passion. They are at the very borderland of lifes mystery . The passion inside the house ebbs as outside the sun comes out after a heavy storm and rain. Alcee leaves the place. Bibi and Bobinot, the son and the father, step in with a packet of shrimp. Life moves as before as if there never blew a storm in her life.
The Story of an Hour is equally interesting though it looks immoral if viewed with mens spectacles. How the news of the death of her husband is taken by a wife is the thrust of the story. Brently Mallard is reported to have been killed in an accident. It is reported to his wife by a friend named Richard with great caution as she has a weak heart. Her sister, Josephine, is near her to attend to her if she breaks out at the sudden tragedy. Mallard reacts to the news like any ardent wife but prefers to shut herself in a room to be alone. Here the narrator gets into her subconscious mind to reveal her actual reaction to the loss of her husband. She feels free at last, Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own , says the narrator (Chopin). She does not have to be a slave to anyone anymore. Her body and soul from now on belongs to her, with no more repression in her life. As with such thoughts of liberty, she rejoices in her inner self; she makes out a plan of her liberated future life. At this moment, her sister knocks at the door. Mallard comes out still displaying the role of bereavement. Suddenly she finds her husband standing at the door, saying that he was nowhere near the sight of the accident.
Both Calixta and Mallard represent the female passion and their yearning for freedom. Passion is like a storm lashes at an unexpected time and it does not choose the place and objects. Its freedom is beyond repression. These stories also lead to a rethinking about chastity, possession, and the sense of honesty in marital life. Chopin thus opens a stormy debate in the phallic world about the violent nature of female impulses.
Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour narrates about an ill woman Louise whose husband died, but she accepted this news with much joy and happiness. Most widows would have reacted mournfully to the death of their loved ones, but Louise responded carelessly. The main character was glad of her spouses demise because she believed she had received the liberation she had lost with him. Hence, the story is a brilliant example of male dominance in a 19th-century society where women were considered weak without manly power.
In The Story of an Hour, it is known that Mrs. Mallard had heart problems, so when her husband deceased, her family was conscientious about reporting his death. At first, she felt numb and shocked and desired to be completely alone to get over that loss. As soon as Louise was left alone, she recognized the attractive and engaging beauty of everything that surrounded her; after that moment, she began to look at life with optimism. She even started thinking about all the good times she would have had since her husband was dead. This fact proves that her spouse dominated her and constrained her freedom in some way, even though it is not clearly stated in the text.
The critical feminist view of this story focused on the expectations placed on women in connection with the establishment of marriage. According to the text, there would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature (Chopin, 2014, p. 3). This is a perfect example of the marriages nature at the end of the 19th century, in which it was a husband who had to superimpose his desires and wills on a wife. Louise also believed that their matrimony was a cruel intention almost equal to a crime. It means that the real problem was not in people but her marriage. Even though Louises spouse had right and kind intentions, his evil nature took its toll on limiting her freedom. Hence, men still had more power and could control everything in females lives.
Louise could not be titled a free woman ; she often felt helpless and would always obey her husbands directives. It means she should live for her spouse, not for herself. The feminist point of view shows that marriages did not allow women to feel any sense of freedom. Therefore, women were highly abused in the 19th century, especially in the matrimonies of that time. It presumes that males had a right to define the destiny of females which seems unbelievable in modern realities. By not having enough freedom, they were not able to work or receive an education which halted their self-development. As a result, women were merely suppressed and did not have a choice but to be meek and patient.
In conclusion, The Story of an Hour shows that the feeling of freedom that Louise did not have was an impediment to a happy life. She praised the miracle of liberation from her domineering husbands death. Even though she did not feel any pain from her spouses demise, society viewed her as helpless and weak. It proves that the male-dominating surrounding did not let her live a whole life.
Reference
Chopin, K. (2014). The story of an hour: Short story. HarperPerennial Classics.
The role of women in modern society is not similar to the one played by the women of the mid-twentieth century. Women have advanced since then and have now brought about a society that embraces equality. Both the authors of the sorrowful woman and Story of an Hour present their protagonists as women who are introverted and forced to play roles they did not like at all. They were quite submissive to their respective husbands and carried on with life as housewives. This essay seeks to explain that in order to have a successful marriage, the husband and wife should work together as a single unit in which the husband and wife play their respective roles without any form of imprisonment.
There is imprisonment of the women in their marriages. The protagonists in the two stories are both presented as women who are imprisoned in their marriages and constrained in the roles they play as women. Both the two women have turned out to be tired and sorrowful or sick . More so, the two protagonists are similar in a way that they both die at the end of the story. They both turn to nature and isolation to get a solution to their troubles. Even if marriage is portrayed differently in the two stories, it is seen as a restraint to the protagonists in both stories. This is not just shown in the storys events but it is as well portrayed in the manner each of the two protagonists in the respective stories turns out to be a dynamic character.
There are varied attitudes towards the family or marriage life in the women. In The story of an hour Kate Chopin presents the protagonist who moves from the state of abandonment to a state of fresh freedom upon hearing the news of her husbands death. She kept on whispering Free! Body and soul free! She was filled with happiness since she did not have to live for anyone by for herself now. She carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of victory (Chopin 4). This is in a way contrary to what Gail Godwin presents in the story A sorrowful woman . Here, the protagonist abruptly turns out to be weighed down by guilt at her abrupt hatred of her role as a mother and a wife. She did not want to be near her husband and child and she spend most of her time resting in her big chair gazing into the snow-ridden branches putting on her slacks and a sweater. She is confronted with the feeling of being abandoned and bitterness towards the family (Anon 1).
Conclusion
In a successful marriage, the husband and wife are supposed to work together to remain as a single unit. It is quite clear in the two stories: The story of an hour and A sorrowful woman that there is no working together in each of the two families as a single unit. The two wives tend to have sunk deep in their own grieve and sadness to a point that there could be no means to salvage the situation. They had sunk deep to a level that whatever the efforts they could make, they wouldnt ever want to realize what once may have been a very wonderful marriage.
References
Anon. A sorrowful woman Versus Story of an hour . Mega Essays, 2010. Web.
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Perfection Learning, 2000.
The Story of an Hour was written by Kate Chopin in the late 19th century a time when women did not have much freedom. The main idea presented in the literary work is the concept of women lacking their independence. The story is a critique of control in marriages and dominant attitudes towards women in the society of the 19th century.
The literary work can be considered through the analysis of the storys plotline. In the exposition part, readers are introduced to the protagonist of the story, Louise Mallard, who has a severe heart condition, and any sudden plot twist may cause a heart attack. In the rising action, Louises sister Josie tells her that Mr. Mallard died in an accident. In the climax, Mr. Mallard turns out to be alive, which means that he has been thought dead by mistake. He walks in fully alive and completely unaware of the current situation. In the resolution, Louise dies because of the sudden shock of seeing her husband alive and of the disappointment.
There are four characters in the story, and Mrs. Mallard is the protagonist. Louise has heart disease, and she is entrapped between her desires and reality, which contrast one another. She is depicted as a subservient woman who has stayed in a loveless marriage for societys sake. Louise represents womens role in the 19th century when a woman was expected to stay home, take care of the children, and live for their husband. Louise breaks the stereotype because she does not want to do that but dreams of freedom and living for herself. She realizes it when she finds out that Mr. Mallard is dead.
One should note that the story is imbued with symbolic images with profound meanings. Heart trouble, an open window, the spring season, a latchkey, and Louises room are symbolic in many ways. Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble , and this is not accidental; perhaps, it reflects her suffering from having to stay in a loveless marriage. When her husband turns out to be alive, her heart stops. It implies that society resists womens freedom. Heart disease indicates a marriage breakdown, which is a significant social construct. The open window and the spring season symbolize new opportunities for Mrs. Mallard. The window represents a gate to Louises new self-possessed life.
When she is looking through the window, she realizes the life ahead and feels that she is a different person. The spring season symbolizes the rebirth of Louises nature. She is awakening after a harsh winter with her husband. The latchkey is a key to the front door, and it represents patriarchy because Mr. Mallard has the key. It means that Louise is limited because she only has a key to her room. She is not allowed to go out and come back whenever she wants, unlike Mr. Mallard. Louises room and her armchair represent the protagonists safety. It is the only place where she can feel like herself.
The analysis of the story shows that Chopins story represents the idea that most marriages result in a lack of independence and at least some repression of the women. Through the character of Mrs. Mallard, the story conveys ideas regarding the limitations women might feel when they are in a marriage. The message of The Story of an Hour is that life is full of irony and unexpected turns. The author uses plenty of ironies, foreshadowing, and symbolism to paint a sympathetic view of Mrs. Mallard and to comment on marriage and gender inequality in the 19th century.
Storytelling plays a crucial role in the life of every individual. As such, it is important to understand that this process includes not only fictional narratives found in books and movies but also the anecdotes and myths about everyday life that form peoples reality. For instance, one can believe that there is only one truly suitable romantic partner for every person. Such a story then would greatly affect the consequent behavior of an individual when he or she intends to find a spouse. Moreover, there is also collective storytelling that is related to the expectations and attitudes formation in certain groups, otherwise known as social norms.
In this regard, the two short fictional works, namely Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour and Judith Ortiz Cofers Volar, help the readers to better understand the association between storytelling and individual identity. The former story describes the feelings of the main heroine Mrs. Mallard who has just known about the death of her cold and possessive husband. Her sister, husbands friend Richard, and others presume that this news would devastate the widow and attempt to provide emotional support. However, they are not aware that Mrs. Mallard is not grieving; rather, she is eager to embrace a new future where she is free. The latter story, on the other hand, presents the life of a young girl who lives in a poor barrio and, in order to compensate for ones insecurities, dreams about being a Supergirl. Through these stories, the writers show how personal dreams can serve as the key to understanding and shaping a persons soul and how predominant social storytelling may lead to an inadequate perception of reality. Additionally, the authors describe how family members storytelling can support and protect their relatives identities.
Dreams and Hopes as Storytelling
Both Chopins and Cofers works discuss how the persons dreams and hopes, on the one hand, reveal his or her internal demands and, on the other hand, help to shape the individual identity. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard, instead of feeling devastated knowing the news concerning her husbands death, starts imagining the better future that she would have. She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely (Chopin, 2018, p. 570). As it is seen, Mrs. Mallards married life with an authoritative husband did not satisfy her, and, thus, she started building a story where she was Free! Body and soul free! (Chopin, 2018, p. 570). Therefore, it can be argued that the main heros personal storytelling helped her to shape a new identity of a woman that does not depend on anyone and lives to fulfill ones dreams.
In a similar vein, the narrator in Volar dreams of being a Supergirl who is strong and independent. Such an image allowed the small girl to address the insecurities of real life, such as living in a poor barrio and being scared of the landlord. Moreover, the main heroines interest in flying is explained by the vulnerabilities of her mother, which the child can unconsciously understand. Indeed, the mother exclaims, Ay, si yo pudiera volar! wishing to be independent of the husbands will (Cofer, 2018, p. 308). As a result, to address those insecurities, the main heroine creates the storytelling of the powerful and self-sufficient girl. This, in turn, leads to the formation of the identity that is ready to face all the worlds challenges as a superhero.
The Criticism of the Collective Storytelling
Additionally, both authors mention that sometimes collective storytelling fails to recognize the existing social diversity and, thus, wrongly identifies and labels other people. In Chopins story, the society that surrounds Mrs. Mallard mistakenly assumes that she is mourning the death of her husband, which corresponds to the prevailing norm of behavior in such cases. Thus, when the central heroine suddenly dies, people believed that she had died of heart disease of joy that kills (Chopin, 2018, p. 570). However, nobody understands that the main character is happy, not devastated by the news.
Similarly, in Volar, the child presumes that her parents are disappointed with the fact that she would interrupt their time together at the beginning of each day by waking up early (Cofer, 2018, p. 306). Yet, although that version coincides with the collective storytelling that parents enjoy the time without children, it may as well be that the girls mother and father do not want her to hear them fighting. Moreover, knowing that their daughter likes being in the fantasy lands, the parents may want the child to spend more time dreaming rather than listening to the barrio news. Therefore, it is seen that collective storytelling can negatively impact an individuals ability to perceive other peoples identity.
Family Support and Identity
Finally, Chopin and Cofer describe how family members can create supportive stories that would protect peoples identities. In The Story of an Hour great care was taken to break to her [Mrs. Mallard] as gently as possible the news of her husbands death (Chopin, 2018, p. 569). Moreover, later Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission because she thought that her sister would become ill (Chopin, 2018, p. 570). Indeed, bad news such as the death of a family member can strongly impact the persons psychological state. Thus, people usually start questioning many aspects of their lives, including their identities. In this regard, through her caring actions, Josephine seeks to communicate to her sister that whatever bad occasions occur, Mr. Mallard can always rely on the support and help of close people.
In Volar, the family support of identity, although not stated directly, can still be observed. For instance, the narrator says, Id wake up in my tiny bedroom with the incongruousat least in our tiny apartmentwhite princess furniture my mother had chosen for me (Cofer, 2018, p. 306). Therefore, it is seen that the main heroines mother wants to support the child in overcoming her insecurities by purchasing the princess furniture, which should make her daughter feel special and important.
Conclusion
Overall, storytelling can have a great impact on individual identity. Both Chopins The Story of an Hour and Cofers Volar reveal three aspects of such a causal relationship that deepens the readers understanding of the process. Firstly, the authors show that dreams and hopes can be regarded as stories that people tell themselves. Through this type of storytelling, people can abandon the dissatisfactory reality and create better worlds. However, at the same time, it can be argued that through dreams, individuals also shape their new identities. Secondly, the writers reveal that there is collective storytelling or common themes and behavior that people expect of certain situations. However, they argue that the existence of such mental patterns that dictate how one should interpret different situations may sometimes lead to failure to recognize social diversity and identity variations. Lastly, the authors describe how storytelling can be used by family members to support their relatives identities which may manifest itself not only through words but also through material things and actions.
References
Chopin, K. (2018). The story of an hour. In K. J. Mays (Ed.), The Norton introduction to literature (Portable 13th ed., pp. 568-570). W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Cofer, J. O. (2018). Volar. In K. J. Mays (Ed.), The Norton introduction to literature (Portable 13th ed., pp. 306-308). W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The story of an hour by Kate Chopin is built using the classic rules of plot structure. The exposition is the news about Brently Mallards death. The complication is how his wife reacts to the situation and how she begins to feel free and happy even though she should feel sorrow. The climax of the story is Brently Mallards return home and the situation when Mrs. Mallard cries. There is no falling action in the story as the resolution is presented immediately Mrs. Mallard is dead because of a heart attack.
The point of view in the story is categorized as the third person limited omniscient as the story-teller is not the participant of the events which take place and is aware of the thoughts of Mrs. Mallard. It should be mentioned that the point of view through the story changes. When Mrs. Mallard is told that her husband is killed in an accident, she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sisters arms (Chopin, 2006, p. 352).
When she entered her room, her feelings and attitude to the husbands death changed as she whispered free, free, free! (Chopin, 2006, p. 353). Thus, a deep grieve has changed with the inner feeling of satisfaction and joy for the free future.
Reading the story, I followed Mrs. Mallards reaction and my opinion about her marriage and her husband changed with the change of the point of view. These changes showed me that the first impression was wrong when I thought that she loved her husband and suffered because of his death. The changes of the point of view are closely related to the story theme and content, as with the help of those changes it is possible to predict that Mrs. Mallard died not because she was so happy to see her husband, but because she understood that her dreams of freedom were ruined.
Reference List
Chopin, K. (2006). The story of an hour. The complete works of Kate Chopin. Baton Rouge: LSU Press.
The Story of an Hour leaves a strange feeling based on misunderstanding and a lasting impression of what happens at the end. Indeed, Louises untimely death came as a surprise to me. However, throughout the story, the author seems to be preparing the reader for this conclusion. Firstly, at the very beginning of the story, Chopin makes it clear that the main characters have heart problems, and a solid emotional shock can be fatal for her. Moreover, before immense joy explained her condition, one might have thought that she was experiencing mortal anguish.
The death of a character from the joy that kills causes conflicting feelings. Alone in a room, Louise is unaware at first but then realizes that she enjoys being on her own. It refers to the marriage union of a man and a woman as an oppressive position and a life doomed to shared suffering. Louise despaired that her independence as a free man was tied to her husband. The release that led to a heart attack can be called joy that kills. For a moment, she thinks she loves her husband, but afterward, Louise realizes that most of their marriage, she did not feel it. Her joy is due to the complete liberation from the marriage ties that bind her. Louise is delighted that now she can control her desires.
However, this does not mean that she did not love her husband. Nonetheless, even in favorable alliances, oppression and implicit control of a persons will can occur. Thus, Louises feelings are pretty explainable by the fact that she can devote her life to herself with the death of her husband. The realization of this leads her to delight and a feeling of euphoria, which she cannot contain in herself. Louises heart is already weak, so she dies from an overabundance of positive emotions.
This paper will be aimed at discussing such literary works as the play Trifles written Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopins short story The Story of an Hour. In particular, it is necessary to examine the views on marriage expressed by these authors. Much attention should be paid to the similarities and differences in the themes that these writers focus on.
Overall, this topic has been chosen because it plays an important role for these feminist writers who want to highlight the problems that could be faced by women living in patriarchic societies. So, this question is helpful for studying various works of Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopin.
Furthermore, this topic is important for understanding the problems that feminist movement tried to address at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is why I have decided to focus on this particular topic in this essay.
My major argument will be based primarily on the analysis of the main characters behavior, especially their reactions to different challenges. In particular, I will focus on the way in which these women perceive their marriage. On the whole, I will argue that Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopin demonstrate that marriage can turn some form of oppression because it deprives them of their independence or dignity.
This is the main similarity that can be identified. However, Minnie decides to use force in order to end the humiliation to which she is subjected to. In contrast, Mrs. Mallard does not want to acknowledge that her marriage is unhappy.
Moreover, she is extremely ashamed of her willingness to leave her husband. In other words, these characters do not have the same attitudes toward the social norms and expectations that are set for women. This is the thesis that I will discuss in greater detail.
Essay
The attitudes toward family and gender roles have been described in various literary works that could have been created during different periods. These questions are explored by such authors Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopin.
Such works as Trifles and The Story of an Hour can be regarded as eloquent examples of feminist literature since they can throw light on the peculiarities of a patriarchal society in which women are not allowed to be autonomous and self-sufficient.
This is one of the main themes that can be singled out. Overall, one can say that these writers describe the experiences of women who are strongly dissatisfied with their marriage because they crave for personal dignity and independence that are denied to them.
These are the things that Mrs. Mallard and Minnie lack. However, these characters respond to these hardships in different ways. In particular, Minnie kills her husband because; to a great extent, it is her response to his continuous abuse. In contrast, Mrs. Mallard is not ready to acknowledge that she is glad to live without her husband. She does not want to say that marriage can turn into a disaster for a person.
Therefore, the characters described by Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopin respond to social injustice in different ways. These are the main questions that should be examined closely. On the whole, this discussion can show that marriage is described as the union in which the rights of both partners are not always equal.
First of all, Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopin throw light on the life of families in which women are forced to play certain gender roles that are imposed on them. In particular, these women are deprived of their freedom and dignity. This point can be illustrated with the help of several examples. For instance, one can look at the way in which Mrs. Mallard responds to the news about her husbands death.
Kate Chopin describes her reaction in the following way, When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under the breath: free, free, free! (Chopin 53). This quote is important for showing that Mrs.
Mallard does not view her marriage as something valuable (Chopin 53). This is one of the aspects that can be singled out. It is possible to say that marriage is not satisfying for the main character of Susan Glaspells play. The author does not directly describe her experiences. However, the writer provides several eloquent details.
For example, the visitors can find the body of the dead canary that was killed by Minnies husband (Glaspell 44). However, male investigators of the murder dismiss this evidence by arguing that women are used to worrying about trifles (Glaspell 38). This quote is important for showing that Minnies inner world is completely overlooked by men.
To a great extent, the husbands cruelty is one of the factors that prompted her to kill him. Yet, this idea does not even occur to the police officers. Overall, family life is practically unbearable for each of these characters. This is one of the details that can be singled out.
Susan Glaspell and Kate Chopin show that marriage produced a devastating effect on the inner world of these characters. Much attention should be paid to such a theme as lack of personal fulfillment which is critical for every individual. Both characters suffer because their personal needs are continuously disregarded.
However, there are important distinctions that should be considered. First of all, Mrs. Mallard is unable to acknowledge that she wants to live for herself (Chopin 53). In her opinion, such a desire is monstrous (Chopin 53). The protagonist does not admit that she does not want to grieve for her husbands death (Chopin 53). She believes that her inability to feel the sense of loss will be condemned by other people.
This character suffers a heart attack when she finds out her husband has not died. This is one of the aspects that can be distinguished. In contrast, Minnie is able to live without her husband. She is ready to defy the social traditions according to which women are obliged to accept the rules set by males. One can say that Mrs. Mallard is afraid of stating that she wants to end her marriage.
This is one of the distinctions that can be identified since it is important for describing the differences between these literary works. It should be borne in mind that these texts were written during different periods, and they can show how womens values evolved. They became more willing to challenge the authority of males.
Thus, Minnie deviates from the established social tradition. Certainly, it is difficult to find an ethical justification for murder or any other forms of violence. However, this behavior is a response to suffering and injustice. This is one of the points that can be made.
Certainly, it is possible to raise some objections to the arguments that have been placed in the paper. For instance, one can mention that both authors do not speak about the relations between the main characters and their spouses. These issues are not explicitly described by the writers.
In particular, the readers do not know much about the behavior of Brently Mallard whose personality is not examined by Kate Chopin. Additionally, this author does not speak about the way in which he treats his wife. This is one of the flaws that should be considered. Furthermore, Susan Glaspell does not pay much attention to the relations between Minnie and her husband John Wright.
Moreover, the author does not explicitly tell that the main character killed her spouse. This is only the assumption that cannot be fully verified. These are some of the limitations that should be considered. Yet, one can respond to these objections. For instance, it is necessary to keep in mind that as a reporter Susan Glaspell often wrote about women who were accused of murders (Ben-Zwi 141).
Moreover, in many cases, these women were victims of abuse or humiliation (Ben-Zwi 142). This story is partly based on the life of Margaret Hossack who murdered her husband because of his abuse. Therefore, one can argue that Minnie could be humiliated or abused by her husband.
Moreover, it is important to remember that Kate Chopins short story is also based on the real-life events (Toth 10). In particular, she wrote about women who were compelled to marry (Toth 10). Apart from that, she had to end the short story with the death of the main character, otherwise this literary work might not have been published (Toth 10; Berkove 152).
These examples indicate that at the end of the nineteenth century, women were not supposed to be independent from males. Therefore, it is quite possible to identify the connections between the feminist movement and the literary works of Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell who want to throw light on the difficulties faced by women.
On the whole, this discussion suggests that these short stories present a critique of marriage. In both cases, the writers show that women could be dissatisfied with this form of union. Minnie and Mrs. Mallard are not willing to reject their freedom and sense of dignity. However, they are forced to do it. To a great extent, this situation can be described by the social norms that existed during the nineteenth century.
So, this is the main internal conflict that they struggle to resolve. Yet, they react to these hardships in different ways. In particular, Minnie kills her husband because in this way she attempts to retain her dignity. In contrast, Mrs. Mallard cannot openly state that she cannot live with her spouse.
This is why this character is speechless when she sees her husband. Overall, the main theme is the lack of personal fulfillment and autonomy that these women lack. However, Susan Glaspell focuses on the idea of protest against the existing social hierarchy while Kate Chopin focuses on the social norms that are aimed at subduing women. These are the main arguments that can be put forward.
Works Cited
Ben-Zwi, Linda. Murder, She Wrote : The Genesis of Susan Glaspells Trifles. Theatre Journal 44.2 (1992): 141-162. Print.
Berkove, Lawrence. Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour.American Literary Literalism 32.2 (2000): 152-158. Print.
Chopin, Kate. A Pair of Silk Stockings. New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2012. Print.
Glaspell, Susan. Plays by Susan Glaspell. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Print.
Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi,1999. Print.
In this essay, we are going to make a critical analysis of a short story by a famous American writer Kate Chopin (1850 1904) The Story of an Hour . K. Chopin is sometimes called a forgotten voice of American Literature, only in the middle of the 20th century her works regained their popularity and took their deserved place among the masterpieces of world literature. Kate Chopin can even be called a prophet of the feminist literature of the end of the 19th century.
And this fact can be easily explained if we take a look at her life. Her father died when she was five years old and she was brought up by her mother and great-grandmother. She had to prove the right of a woman to decide something in the society contemporary to her and, besides, was influenced by her parents. So, as we can see it is understandable that her works express concern about the role a woman should play in society.
In the story under consideration, The Story of an Hour , purely feminist ideas are expressed together with a skillful description of the emotional state of the main character of the story which is rather an interesting psychological type of a human being. What we are going to discuss in the essay is the epiphanies the main character of the story, Mrs. Mallard, had and the conflict of her behavior with the social and historical context of those times.
We will try to find out the reasons for such actions and feelings of Mrs. Mallard, discuss the means used by the author to describe the above-mentioned emotions of the main character, and the aim of the story on the whole: its audience and the effect it had in the social opinion.
To start with, let us restore a picture of the society of that time a society controlled by and existing for men, few, if any, womens rights, and the atmosphere of the permanent tension, though not exposed, nevertheless, felt and real. It was impossible to imagine a womans behavior that would violate the set standards and avow disagreement with the existing norms. And in the story under consideration we can observe an inner conflict of a personality she is ashamed to express her emotions, not because of possible social disapproval, but because she still can not decide even for herself what she feels. We are the witnesses of the duality of the attitude conditioned by two musts : on the one hand an inner state of a personality, and on the other hand societal foundations and principles.
Now let us examine the characteristics of the main heroine in a more detailed way. Mrs. Mallard was a young lady with a fair face that bespoke repression and a certain strength (Chopin 259). She could not be called a weak-willed person anyway. Surely, she had some physical weaknesses, like heart trouble she was afflicted with, but this has nothing to do with the strong spirit of freedom and aspiration for self-assertion which lived inside of this tender young lady. If we address the message implicated in the text of the story, we can guess that her husband, Brently Mallard, did not appreciate these features of her character and, probably tried to suppress them.
She confessed to herself that there had been moments when she loved her husband but more often she did not (260). Mrs. Mallard could patiently stand almost everything but the only thing that arouse her anger was that she did not possess her life, her time, she did not possess herself everything was bent to her husbands will.
When we start reading this story we do not know these details and that is why Mrs. Mallards reaction to her sisters message about the accident on the railroad where her husband was among the killed seems, at first, natural: She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sisters arms. (259), but then it becomes unpredictable and she even starts feeling a kind of joy! Of course, she was sure to weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead (260), but it was nothing in comparison to the freedom she could get from what had happened. Free! Body and soul free! she kept whispering. (260)
As can be easily understood, she spoke of herself, of her new life which must begin after her husbands death. She was at first afraid of these thoughts, afraid to accept them, tried to beat them back with her will . But a bit later she gave up, she abandoned the hope to resist these thoughts and feelings and a word in whisper sounded from her lips again: Free! (260).
Having thought of all the advantages of her new status, the status of a widow, she opened and spread her arms out to them [above mentioned thoughts] in welcome. (260). Here we can notice that she was ashamed to feel this way but she could not fight the feeling because it was inside of her, it was her original self expressing sincere emotion, though cruel but not subjected to social attitudes. In this episode of the story, the author depicted the state of mind when a conflict with the accepted standards is a result of a persons being absolutely sincere and honest to herself.
The author skillfully pictures Mrs. Mallards behavior at the time when she was alone in her room after coming to know about her husbands death. Her husbands friend Richard and her sister were afraid that she was drowning in sorrow and could make herself ill while she was looking at the blue sky with grey patches of clouds and considering all the positive sides of the freedom she could finally get. No one would control her actions, she would be the only mistress of her life, she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. (260).
Her husbands death became a starting point for her new life, at least she took it so: She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. When Mrs. Mallards sister persuaded her to leave the room and go downstairs she appeared in the corridor with a look which could not be called the one of a mourning widow. She was full of energy, her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. (261).
But when she descended the stairs the dreams of freedom broke into small pieces. What she saw made her cry piercingly. Her husband stepped into the house has opened the front door with a latchkey. He did not even know about the accident and was far from the place where it had happened. Mrs. Mallards shock was too strong. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart diseaseof the joy that kills.
An hour in Mrs. Mallards life depicted in the story under consideration turned out to be fateful, but, at the same time, the happiest one. During this hour she felt free, felt how her dreams came true and this was real happiness. And when this feeling came to its end so did her life.
Speaking of Brently Mallard, we can not learn a lot about him and his relations with his wife from the text of the story. It is the implication that helps us develop the whole setting of the work. Only using understanding the implicit meaning we can visualize the background of the story. We know much about Mr. Mallard after reading the story through the author mentions his name only several times. The emotions of Mrs. Mallard are what give us information to think over and make our conclusions about her husband. This should be referred to the authors literary skills Kate Chopin said much without saying a word. The fact confirms Chopins works place among the best masterpieces of world literature.
And in conclusion, I would like to sum up all the above said. The Story of an Hour is one of the best works by the famous American writer Kate Chopin. In this story, we could observe different sides of human nature, the conflict within a personality, and contradictions of ones own identity with the norms of society. We were witnesses of the kaleidoscope of feelings of the main character, we could see how happy she was and how, in a minute, everything was destroyed and her life did not have sense anymore.
Kate Chopin is a master of a psychological novel and, by different means, for example describing how Mrs. Mallard enjoyed looking at the sky after she had learned about her husbands death, she displays a full picture of human life in the plenitude of its bright and dark colors. Kate Chopin managed perfectly to describe them in her work which provokes every reader to think of what is right and what is wrong and to change in a certain manner his or her values and the universal values of mankind.
Another point of crucial importance in this story is the feminist view of the author, paying attention to the problem of a womans role in society and an attempt to change the situation by the power of literary art.
So, the idea of the story under consideration is making changes, in a personality as well as in the state of things in the whole world and the audience of such a work can not be outlined distinctly. It is aimed at readers of all ages, genders, and social positions. It was written more than a hundred years ago but still has not lost its topicality and importance because it is the material side of life that changes but not people.