Freedom Versus Confinement By Henrik Chopin

For the most part, society’s conception of women in the 19th century dictated the way women were treated and influenced the portrayal of female characters in writing generated during that time. The Cult of Domesticity claimed that true womanhood was marked by a natural inclination to domesticity and submissiveness. Though all women clearly have the capacity to think for themselves, earn money, and overcome the emotional obstacles they may meet, the plausibility of complete independence was a challenging appeal for Harper to make. Men dominated family

Freedom should be enjoyed ,because it can be gone in a flash . Both Kate Chopin’s short story “Story Of An Hour “ and “ An Obstacle”, both story and poem discuss women's freedom and both put a message in their writings “ An Obstacle “ shows a women trying to pass but a prejudice and when she ignored it and she was free to pass. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story Of An Hour” tells the story of a woman called Mrs,Mallard learns the painful truth that her husband has died. Slowly she starts to realize that she will have gained more freedom but her husband comes back; she tragically realize that she won’t be granted her freedom. Although “ The Story Of An Hour” and “ An Obstacle “ use different metaphors, actually, both use chronological order to show the readers how fast or long their problems might last.So the story and poem of kate chopin and charlotte perkins both show a form of freedom in their writing.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion,” is a quote written by Albert Camus, which displays the complexity of defining the term freedom. Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “The Flies,” defines the concept of freedom as the accountability of one’s own guilt, which allows individuals to recognize their own freedom. Furthermore, an individual that accepts accountability for one’s own guilt and responsibility for the city, or complete isolation, is living in freedom. Likewise, Zora Neal Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the notion of being or becoming absolutely free, finding her voice,

Freedom was hard for everyone who was not a wealthy, white male. This was proven when the Indians of the Gilded Age were fighting for their freedom. One major occurrence was the famous saying from Chief Joseph, “Let me be a free man”. Chief Joseph was the leader of the Nez Perce (Foner, 615). He wanted to confront an issue that not only his tribe but also other tribes were struggling with, which was being confined to reservation life (Foner, 615). This was the U.S.’s first example of a strike. Many more strikes occurred in the progressive-era when women were battling gender roles and individuality. Women established “feminism”, which was a gender liberation of females during the progressive-era (Foner, 703).

During the 1800’s it was very rare for women to marry for love. Most marriages were arranged for financial gain. When in a marriage during this time period, the husbands were given most of the control over the household, the children and their wives. According to the article “Histories: Women in the 1800’s,” It stated that all of a women’s possession’s belonged to her husband, this included earnings (if she worked) and her property. It wasn’t uncommon for women to be unhappy within their marriages because with a lack of voice in a marriage can lead anyone to a mental breakdown. In Kate Chopin’s “The story of an hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” both women felt trapped in their marriages. They both strived for freedom and independence.

Chopin and Freeman lived in a time when men dominated women; a woman’s job was to marry, have a home, and raise children. Women were their husband’s property and law did not protect them if they were abused. (Plaza) Owning land, making financial decisions, and voting was among the many things women could not do. Freeman and Chopin both used their literary works to shed light on those subjects.

One of the most important themes of the The Awakening is the struggle for identity and freedom. Edna Pontellier, a wealthy women living in late 19th-century New Orleans, attempts to pursue independence from her marriage and motherhood. The novel takes place in two different locations: Grande Isle, on the coast of Louisiana, and New Orleans. Each of these two distinct settings reflect a particular part of Edna’s journey and advance her character in various ways. While staying on Grande Isle, Edna experiences the Creole culture dominant there, which allows her to spend time alone around Robert Lebrun even though she is a married woman. The Creole culture is a shock to Edna: “A characteristic which distinguished [the Creoles] and which

In a male dominated society, women were believed to be fragile weaklings that depended on men in order to survive and find happiness. In fact, they were seen as nothing more than selfless wives and mothers. The seemingly “perfect wife” then, was characterized by her dutifulness and obedient demeanor. This notion of male supremacy was undoubtedly the predominant basis of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Rendered unable to voice their own opinions, women then turned to pen and paper as a way to communicate their thoughts. From this, arose the following pieces: Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” Emily Dickinson’s poem “She rose to His Requirement - dropt,” Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles, and Zora Neale Hurston’s novel

In addition the intense desire for freedom is even more obvious in "The Story of an Hour." Mrs. Mallard's craving for freedom is so strong that when she is given the news of her husband's death, she is relieved that "there would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself" (Chopin 2). It seems as though she wants to live her own life without having her husband tell her what to do all the time.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin was written at the end of the nineteenth century in a time where freedom was granted based off of a bias: only white males could truly experience independence. Hoping to provide

A woman's happiness and success during this era is often dependant on the male or husband of the marriage. During this era, Chopin displays to us in both her short stories "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour" of how reliant women are in their relationship and lives. Women during this era were heavily looked down upon. They were looked so down upon that even the women themselves would look down on themselves resulting in more reliant on the men for their success in life. The women during this time era would be so reliant on men they would do much for the men despite whether they had loved him or not. Chopin many times wrote her short stories with women in marriage with men just for the benefits of living and success rather than love; a “vignettte exploring female desires that cannot be fulfilled in marriage, a common theme for Chopin.” (Brantley 1). During the 19th century, both men and women weren't seen as equal at all. Another push to being reliant on men is government rules and policies of men being the more stronger party of the marriage, relationship, or family. Men were seen as the “better” sex so then women were more reliant. Women had to depend on men to supply them in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Kate Chopin displays this highly in her two short stories as the two women seem really reliant on their male counterpart. The two women shows signs of weakness while their male counterpart were away.

Women roles have drastically changed since the late 18th and early 19th century. During this time, women did not have the freedom to voice their opinions and be themselves. Today women don’t even have to worry about the rules and limitations like the women had to in this era. Edna in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin and Nora in “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen were analogous protagonists. The trials they faced were also very similar. Edna and Nora were both faced with the fact that they face a repressive husband whom they both find and exit strategy for. For Nora this involved abandoning her family and running away, while Edna takes the option that Nora could not do-committing suicide. These distinct texts both show how women were forced to

Chopin includes that Mrs. Mallard tried to fight off these ideas with her will (Booth 307). Her embraced feelings of independence could have been viewed as forbidden. Although she is excited by these thoughts, she tries to resist the pleasure she truly feels when she realizes the freedom that she has gained. The words “free, free, free!” escaped from her mouth (Booth307). She attempted to hold back the overwhelming desires for her own life. Perhaps she is hesitant to welcome these feelings because of the public view on women’s rights, and the potential consequences for those who opposed such views. Despite the faithfulness and love Mrs. Mallard showed for her husband, the extreme relief she felt in no longer having a marital obligation overpowered her feelings of sadness and loss.

In, “The Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin is about the protagonist achieving her freedom as she has aspirations to become independent; which is her freedom. Through this short story, the protagonist Mrs. Mallard was confined by gender relations through marriage (Lucas). As noted in this short story there is gender inequality presented by both male and female in marriage, as both “believe(d) they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature” (Chopin 204). Furthermore, the quote as mentioned illustrates the gender inequality present in marriage as either male or female enforce their other partner to follow orders and obligations. Thus, because of the inequality in gender relations, confinement is felt by the other partner. Consequently, leading to a lack of aspirations and a feeling of imprisonment felt by the other partner.

Women in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s had specific roles determined by the males who were dominant in their society. Women began to write stories which told their gender roles in that era. The authors of these stories lived in this time period and their stories reflect a lot of the traditional roles that were expected of them. The author’s purposes, were to tell about how marriage imprisoned women in this period of time. Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s stories provide examples of the gender roles. Their reasoning of writing these stories was to call on women of this era to learn how to empower themselves in this society.