Compare And Contrast Catherine Barkley And Fredrick Henry

     Relationships seem to be the favorite subject of Kate Chopin’s stories. As Margaret Bauer suggests that Chopin is concerned with exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (Bauer 146). In “The Story of an Hour” Chopin deals with the subject of marriage. She illustrates the influence of family alliance on individual freedom. According to Wohlpart,“The Story of an Hour” describes the journey of Mrs. Mallard against the Cult of True Womanhood as she slowly becomes aware of her own desires and thus of a feminine self that has long been suppressed”(Wohlpart 2). The Cult of True Womanhood in the XIX century included “purity” and “domesticity”. The former suggested that women must maintain their virtue. The latter – denied them their intellectual and professional capabilities (Papke 12). Being the victim of this Cult, Louise Mallard was a good example of a wife without “her own desires and feminine self”.

During the 1800s, slaves received treatment comparable to that of livestock. They were mere possessions of white men stripped of almost every last bit of humanity in them. African-Americans were constricted to this state of mind by their owners vicious treatment, but also the practice of keeping them uneducated. Keeping the slaves illiterate hindered them from understanding the world around them. Slave owners knew this. The slaves who were able to read and write always rebelled more against their masters. Frederick Douglass, author of "A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and Harriet Jacobs, author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," were prime examples. Both slaves had been taught how read and write at a young

(2005). In D. Bjelajac, American Art: A Cultural History (pp. 37-129). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Kate Chopin is known for being criticized for empowering the subject of female sexuality and independence. In Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, it is placed in a time where men were known as being the head of the household while women were only in charge of raising the children and caring for the home. In the 1890s, women didn’t have so much power to themselves compared to today’s society where female empowerment is frequently encouraged. Chopin’s story narrates a sequence of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions that goes within the motion of the story. As she overcomes the sudden death of her husband, her emotion of grief soon turns into the sudden feeling of freedom, later on emerging into a strong independent woman.

Joseph Henry was born on December 17, 1897 in Albany New York. Joseph was an only child his parents were William Henry and Ann Alexander. Both of his parents families had emigrated from Scotland in 1775 a year before America’s Declaration of Independence. Joseph’s dad worked on a boat sailing the Hudson River but he had poor health he was thought to be an alcoholic. When Joseph was seven he was sent to live with his Uncle, Aunt and Grandmother in Galway, New York, which is about 35 miles away from Albany. In Albany his mother tried nursing Joseph’s dad back to health but without success his father died when he was nine.

On June 16, 1933, President Roosevelt signed into law the widely debated Glass-Steagall Banking Act. Sponsored by Virginia’s U.S. Senator Carter Glass and Alabama’s U.S. Representative Henry Steagall, the Glass-Steagall Banking Act was one of the attempts to restore the American people’s confidence in the banking system. Congress knew the current banking system needed reform. They desired to restrict the use of bank credit for speculation and instead direct bank credit to more productive uses, such as agriculture, commerce, and industry.

The difference in social status is often apparent as, the distinction between the treatment given to Margaret and Frederick Douglass contrast remarkably to the higher class, yet their ability to fully comprehend information through acts of observations, is not as distinctive because they are forced to comply with societal standards towards respecting the wealthy. Margaret is prominently signified as a servant through her faithful compliance with tasks given to her by Hero, her wealthy employer, and expected to “Bear thee well in it” and to “warrant” to do it quickly, (Shakespeare, 2.3.13-14). On the other hand, however, Margaret’s intelligence and witty cognizance of information is not affected by such a societal structure, although, it is

Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” and Hemingway’s “Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” although having two different plots and being written by two different authors, share a generous number of resemblances, for example, the fates of the different characters of both stories and also the struggles that each characters face. The resemblances in these short stories include that, (1), both Louise (“Story of an Hour”) and Francis (“Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”) face similar conflicts with their spouses, (2) the two protagonists have an epiphany of their self-worth, and lastly, (3) Louise and Francis’ deaths are both sudden and ironic, and are consequently caused by each of their spouses, whether directly or indirectly. In the short

While Catherine and Frederic Henry were first starting to fall in love, Frederic had to go out to the front lines. He had to help bring back the wounded during the attack. While he was talking to his men about how they are going to undergo the task at hand, all of a sudden they were bumbed.

Equally is not enough for fair. Equally means in the same manner, and fair means give or take based on your personal needs. The story that wrote by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. shows us even every person is equal, they are not as happy as us, and they are not as freely as us. Because the needs of everybody are different.

Frederic's education is enhanced by his relationship with the English nurse, Catherine Barkley, as well. Originally, Catherine is nothing more than an object of sensual desire, but as the novel progresses, Catherine becomes symbolic of Frederic's final resolution. At first Frederic views Catherine as a replacement for the boring prostitutes that he is accustomed to visiting. He takes advantage of her situation; Catherine's fiancé has been killed in the war.

In addition to a restricted setting, Chopin expresses a theme of marriage confinement through the portrayal of Louise’s epiphany and her death that soon follows. As Mrs. Mallard is contemplating her feelings in regards to her husband’s passing, she comes to the eventual conclusion that she is indeed saddened but, “Then she realizes she has a newfound freedom: ‘There would be no one to live for during these coming years; she would live for herself’. She is ecstatic” (Mayer 94). As a result of Brently’s death, Louise has been released by the bonds of marriage and is now free to live as she sees fit, not by what her husband deems acceptable. It should be noted, however, that Mrs. Mallard is not in high spirits because her husband has died; she did in fact love him at times.

In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes to her readers a young woman’s response to her husband’s death, or at least his presumed death. The opinions readers will draw from this story will vary from person to person due to personal experiences. The experience and wisdom that I have gained through the trails and tribulations of my life help me to understand, relate, and even despise Mrs. Mallard’s character. On one hand, I feel pity for Mrs. Mallard. I think she felt trapped in a situation that she found to be inescapable. She felt lonely, restless, and did not know how to help herself. Yet, on the other hand, I do not feel sorry for

Catherine is so wrapped up in her fictional world of reading that she becomes ignorant of her real life issues with Henry Tilney, for whom she has been love-struck since their introduction. She entertains herself with wild imaginings about his life and family. Catherine's imaginings foreshadow her eager desire for mischief as Austen's story develops. Catherine is endowed with a vivid imagination, but she has not yet learned to use it in concert with her perception, especially in understanding the interactions between people.

The narrator is unknown to the readers but describes Catherine’s, and other characters inner thoughts, that would otherwise be reserved to them. Although it is Catherine that is made the main focus, “Catherine’s feelings, as she got into the carriage, were in a very unsettled state; divided between regret for the loss of one great pleasure, and the hope of soon enjoying another”, her narrative representation is sympathetic and pleasant but the third-person structure also allows for Catherine’s nature to be presented without confusing the