Introduction
Traditionally, women were viewed as less equal, which led to them fighting for their rights. Through different amendments touching on equal rights for women, everything seems to be changing whereby women are now holding prestigious positions alongside men. Besides that, they are receiving almost similar treatment like men. Literature has for a long time developed interesting tension characters about women, and this is from the woman herself and society in general. The woman in the “The Story of an Hour” portrays a stronger character, and this is based on freedom and rational creation (Chopin 16). The two women from the two stories have similarities, but they deal with their situations differently
Comparisons
“The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of an Hour” short stories have shared similarities. In the two stories, women were under the control of their men, which led to their freedom. It conflicts between the husbands and wives that rule the two stories. These two narrators had to deal with that feeling associated with imprisonment and isolation. In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator, a woman, had been controlled physically and mentally (Perkins 18).
The room she is confined to has strange wallpaper, symbolizing how complex and confused her life was. Her bedroom became her prison with a claim that she could rest to recover her health. She does not work, and no visitors are allowed to visit her. She is expressing her loneliness of being forgotten by John. She says, “John is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are severe (Chopin 17). She must stay at home but John, her husband, is free to go out anytime he wants.
On the other hand, Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” was no different from her colleague. She had to deal with the conflict brought about by her husband’s death. The husband had controlled her body and soul. The husband was living her life, and her feeling was that no private will should be imposed on anyone. The two women from the two stories longed for freedom from the husbands (Laurie and Stephen).
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the woman is rebelling against her husband. She writes in her journal as she moves her bed because no one is around her (Julie 18). In “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard’s grief was short-lived, but she was soon overjoyed that her husband was nowhere to control her. She, therefore, had the opportunity to free herself. On realizing that he was not dead, she grieved again, and because of the intense grieving, she died.
Conclusion
The two stories focus on the plight of women in the 19th century. The period is an interesting one, and women in that era had to be treated as citizens in the second class (Hunter 18). Women in this era were also expected to be married, which created a holy bond. The marriage tied the two stories together, and divorce was not allowed because it was viewed as taboo. The tight bond that was observed seems to have caused a lot of tension between the two. The two stories are great because they connect the readers and the characters through well-structured examples relating to the plight of women. The women needed to remain strong because their freedom was to be achieved
Work Cited
Julie, Bates.Dock. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s the Yellow Wall-paper and the History of Its republicationa and reception. Pennyslavian: Pennyslavian State University Press, 2008.
Kate, Chopin. The Story of an Hour. New York : Longman publishers , 2000.
Laurie, Kirszner and Mandell Stephen. Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 9th. New York: Cengage Learning, 2017.
Perkins, Gilman. The Yellow Wallpaper. Texas: Xist punblishers, 2012.
Tera, Hunter. Bound in wedlock: Slave and free black marriage in the nineteenth century . New York: Havard University Press , 2017.