Kate Chopin 's A Respectable Women

Two famous women authors of the Victorian era were Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The Victorian era brought out many different themes of freedom, confinement, and inequity. The Victorian themes can be seen in Kate Chopin’s writing called, “The Story of an Hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s writing called, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” There are many similarities and differences between both Victorian women’s perspectives and writing. This paper will compare and contrast the short stories written by Kate Chopin and Charlotte Gilman.

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman written in the 1890s both reflect gender roles of this time, specifically women’s roles. In these stories both of the women are oppressed by their marriages, and by the end of the stories both wish to be rid of their husbands. Also, in both of these stories these women experience mental illnesses, mainly depression. These illnesses were looked at as something minor during this time, was it because psychologists were uneducated, or because as women their mental stability did not really matter? These stories connect so well because of their work to bring to the surface the reality of gender roles in the 1800s. Even though these stories were fictional their ideas were very real. By comparing how men and women were treated during this time, and how they are treated more equally now, it shows that with time American has come a long way.

The setting of both stories reinforces the notion of women's dependence on men. The late 1800's were a turbulent time for women's roles. The turn of the century

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.

The short stories, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin and “The Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell compare two married women who live under the shadow of their husbands. Both of these stories were written in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries during the time when women were treated unequally. Women had limited rights. For example, they could not vote, voice their opinion or work outside the home. Glaspell and Chopin were considered feminist writers who focus their writing on the struggle of women during the time when the Women’s Suffrage Movement was beginning; these short stories reflect women’s struggles under the control of men. Married women were responsible for taking care of the household, children and wifely duties while the husbands were responsible for consistently managing the title of “the breadwinner.” Married women were expected to be discreet and obedient to their husbands, which meant that the wives could not express their opinions because of society’s expectations of women. In the short stories, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin and “The Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell, Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Wright share a prominent similarity concerning the loss of their individual identity during marriage and realize that the death of their husbands allow them to regain their self-identity.-

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 a world without the different ideas from authors, readers would be reading the same types of stories without any diversity. There would be only one theme of a story until a brave author would break away from the chain and make a different type of story. Sure, the writer of the story would be rejected from society for a while, but the story they wrote will change the views of future author’s writing. Literature throughout history has shown many various ideas of themes. One of the most important themes is that of individualism. The theme of individualism means to be an individual, or refusing conform to anyone else’s views or thoughts. Individuality is the most universal theme in all of American Literature. Individualism is demonstrated in the texts “The Minister’s Black Veil”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature”, “To Build a Fire” written by Jack London, and Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”.

In a world without the different ideas from authors, readers would be reading the same types of stories without any diversity. There would be only one theme of a story until a brave author would break away from the chain and make a different type of story. Sure, the writer of the story would be rejected from society for a while, but the story they wrote will change the views of future author’s writing. Literature throughout history has shown many various ideas of themes. One of the most important themes is that of individualism. The theme of individualism means to be an individual, or refusing conform to anyone else’s views or thoughts. Individuality is the most universal theme in all of American Literature. Individualism is demonstrated in the texts “The Minister’s Black Veil”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature”, “To Build a Fire” written by Jack London, and Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”.

During the nineteenth century, when suffragist movement had started to seek for equality and freedom of women, great female authors such as Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman were writing stories to describe their marriage lives in a very simple yet interesting way. They did not just talk about themselves, but also speak out the situations and feelings of other class of women had during those time. Woman during those time did not have an easy life, especially the society was a place where male were more powerful and stood in a more high class standing compare to woman. Too many restrictions posed on

Chopin’s also uses these settings to illustrate the lack in freedom of expression for women and gender egalitarianism. In the late 1800’s women were in the process of fighting for equal rights, suffrage, and respect by joining organizations such as the National Woman Suffrage Association. A woman’s life revolved solely around their husband’s wants and needs, they wanted more out of

As previously seen in several works by Kate Chopin and other prominent female writers, women had traditionally maintained influence in the home while men had been expected to provide for the well-being of their families. Women, assumed to be feeble minded and incapable of bettering society, were sheltered from the “difficulties” that men had faced in the outside world. Women were expected to raise children and prepare meals for their husbands while men earned the money and provided crucial support for their families. Women were viewed as inferior, being denied prerogatives such as the right to vote. While this may have been true in the past, there has been a notable alteration in the duties that women are expected to fulfill. However, additional work must be undertaken to ensure the further deterioration of the boundary that separates these distinct spheres of influence.

In the stories “The Jewelry” by Guy de Maupassant, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the female characters are unequal and less important than the men in society. The duties of women during this time period did not consist of much more than seeing to her husband’s needs and caring for the home and children. The authors show the lack of independence women were allowed in the 1800s, especially in marriage. The stories express women’s cry for equality and their feelings of entrapment in their marriage. Each story elaborates on the importance of social class in the 19th century, how women were presented in society, and how society

A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time, by Ann Bail Howard, discusses the nature of the female characters in Kate Chopin’s novel’s and short stories. Howard suggests that the women in Chopin’s stories are longing for independence and feel torn between the feminine duties of a married woman and the freedom associated with self-reliance. Howard’s view is correct to a point, but Chopin’s female characters can be viewed as more radically feminist than Howard realizes. Rather than simply being torn between independent and dependant versions of her personality, “The Story of an Hour’s” Mrs. Mallard actually rejoices in her newfound freedom, and, in the culmination of the story, the position of the woman

At the end of 19th century, American society presented an ideology of patriarchy. Feminists struggle for the equality and discrimination against female. As feminist movement started, lots of female writers were explored. One of the most famous writers is Kate Chopin. Her works mostly present a theme of women pursue freedom and equality. “The Story Of An Hour” and “The Awakening” are her representative works. In these two works, Kate Chopin reveals how women lived under the oppression of male-dominated society, especially for women who got married. They were not financially independent and their freedom and rights were deprived. Therefore female were forced to be an “angle in the home”. Both challenge the preconception that women can only be a housekeeper and marriage is the only way out.

In the beginning of the story, Chopin uses description in order to form Mrs. Baroda’s initial perception of Gouvernail when she finds out her husband had invited him to spend a few weeks on their plantation; Mrs. Baroda was less than pleased to discover his arrival. Mrs. Baroda