One of the most well-known pieces of classical literature is Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour. One of the most evident historical observances that could be made about the story is the telegraph, which plays a great role in the plot as well (Chopin). It is possible to interpret Chopin’s The Story of an Hour as a critique and cautionary tale about technology, particularly the railroad and the telegraph. This tale might be considered cautionary when civilization and information move too quickly. By the end of the nineteenth century, the widespread use of the telegraph had changed the United States and the world. As the importance of telegraphy grew, so did the demand for skilled telegraphers. The telegraph companies welcomed hiring women, as their hands were generally smaller and better suited to the task. Telegraphy has also opened opportunities for women to learn new skills, participate in new social networks, and pursue higher education.
This presumption was exploited by businesses that recruited women, giving them access to a youthful, dependable, transitory labor that could be given minimal rates because the position was temporary. Female telegraphers also more frequently had to provide additional income for their families instead of a one-time income for themselves. When they took breaks from the telegraph board, observers at the time noted that female telegraph operators were knitting and stitching. This shows that women’s traditional roles and domestic duties have not changed due to entering the workforce. In many situations, telegraph labor brought female telegraph operators into the family economy, which depended on their salaries, rather than fostering their independence. However, the telegraph’s creation offered up new work opportunities for women, sparking a profound change in American culture. Women now have the chance to develop new talents and start their businesses. The way women have started to view themselves has changed, even though the way society sees women has not had. Women’s work outside the house fueled the expanding push for women’s rights in the following century. An overemphasis on the positive aspects of the telegraph industry for women can be misleading. Most female telegraph operators were young, mostly poor and unmarried, in their teens and twenties. Few have ever risen above the standard telegraph operator. Working outside the home has become an impetus for the growing movement for women’s rights. Thus, receiving false news about the death of her husband by telegraph, the protagonist of the work receives news about the future of free women. This demonstrates how much the telegraph as a technology influenced the female suffrage of those times and, as a result, culture and literature in particular.
The other important event that happened during the time when The Story of an Hour had been created was suffrage. The female suffrage movement fought for women’s voting rights in the USA for many years. Wedded women had no ownership rights at the time. It was permissible for husbands to abuse or jail their wives since they were legally responsible for them. Reformers and activists had to fight for over a hundred years to obtain that privilege and the right to vote. The younger generation of campaigners argued that women earned the voice because they were distinct from males rather than making the case that they should have the same rights and obligations as men because they were born equal. They may use the power of the vote to forge a purer, morally superior “maternal state,” turning domestic life into a political ideal.
Work Cited
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Adfo Books, 2018.