Oppression Of Women By Marriage

Kate Chopin wrote “The story of an hour” in 1894. We are talking about a good 200 years ago. Back then women didn’t have much of voice or anything. Women were born to sever their husbands and stand on their side no matter what. It’s not like today were if

In "The Story of an Hour" Chopin portrays marriage and the role and feelings of women in the 19th century as subordinate contributors to the husbands. The third word of the story is “Mrs.”, identifying the protagonist as a wife, defining her role and her life. She is also identified as weak and fragile.

There was a very different scene in the household of American families. During the early 1800s, a woman’s life consisted of many obligations and few choices. Women were pretty much controlled by the men in their life, their fathers, brothers, and husbands. The life would consist of finding a husband, reproducing, and then spending the rest of their lives helping the family in the house. In fact, when women became married, legally all of her inheritance and belongings would belong to her husband.

At this point in time, women were thought to be have belonged in the home and were inferior to men due to it just being the cultural norm. That was just the way of life and how it had always been. Sentimentalism came to the American society around the 1800’s. This then lead away from arranged marriages and gave men and women free will of marriage based off of feelings, attraction and affection. Companionate marriages were thought to have given men and women equality in the marriage, but in reality husbands still continued to dominate the marriage because “male authority was deeply ingrained in cultural mores and according to Abigail Adams complained, husbands had “sovereign authority” over the family’s property” (Henretta, 2012). During

For centuries women had had to bow to men they were taught never to speak unless called upon or spoken to. That their sole purpose in life was to be a homemaker; a servant to the men in their lives fathers, brothers, sons. As time progressed women began to fight for their right to receive equal rights, education and vote. But that wasn’t enough in the year 2013 women still made eighty cents to every man’s dollar but that all changed one day. Women who were sick of being oppressed had risen up against the male chauvinism within society of the united states.The first measure was to take all men out of all positions of decision-making power immediately, and of any kind of social, professional position whatsoever. The men of society were

Today, women are believed to be equal to men however this was not always the case. During colonial times, women did not have the same roles as women do today; men and women had fixed roles in society. Roles between men and women do not exchange due to strict gender roles. Additionally, married women were not exactly considered as companions instead, as the husband’s property. Although gender roles were a significant issue among women in early America, another issue was the background of these women. Factors such as race, religion, geography/region, and social class were substantial to the extent of control a woman had over her own life. These factors significantly shaped the lives of these women. For instance, white women had differences

For example, England is a male-dominant society, meaning that the males are the heads of their family. Hence, the husband goes out to work in order to support their family, while the wife stays at home to take care of the children and to manage the house. According to Lawson, a good wife is seen to fulfill their task as a housekeeper, and "...make a great deal of cloth of their own cotton, wool and flax..." (John Lawson, A New Voyage to Carolina, p. 84-85) This is the mindset that the people of colonial America gained from England. Additionally, women generally have no say on their husband's decision. Women are expected to be obedient, and to whole-heartedly support their husbands, "They are ready to help their husbands in any servile work, as planting..." (A New Voyage to Carolina, p. 84-85) As a result, women are not seen as equal individuals to men, they are only someone who aids their husband, and overall, they have little rights (power) on their own. Due to this mindset, women in colonial America have no right to vote; and it is difficult for women to find jobs in the outside work field because they are expected to be housewives who will work at

Before the 1840s women were deemed completely dependant throughout her life on men, first as daughters then as wives. They were known as the property of their husbands and

Gender oppression and gender roles in marriage during the late 1800s. The role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms. There were fixed gender roles assigned by male-dominated societies. The man’s role being that of the husband and rational thinker, and the woman’s role being that of the dutiful wife who does not question her husband’s authority. Back then it was normal for the women to be seen as weak minded and lesser than the men. Even from religious figures like pastors and priest in the 18 and 1900s contributed to the oppression of women in marriage. New brides were told that they are the submissive partner

This can be seen in some of today’s societies as well. In the 1700’s, they were highly subjected to their sphere. This includes many duties such as; cooking meals, cleaning the house, and washing clothes. Men and women are formed by the “opinions and manners of the society they live in.” (160) This being said, men are thought of to be the providers for the family, while the women were always looked down upon to keep the house straight. In this period, it would be highly unlikely for the roles to switch for women. They appeared as the husbands ‘helpmate’ and were just there for order in the house. This was seen as a growing trend in the time period’s

The oppression of women has been brought into light in the recent years but it was the norm in many societies in early history especially in premodern east Asia. During that time, the roles of men and women in society were determined by great scholars that had the power to get their voice to be heard and set general rules in society. In China, scholars like Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi had great impact on the way people divided the roles between men and women. The overall oppression of women in premodern east Asia can be seen through quotes from great scholars about how women should be obedient to men, should not make important decisions in their families, and are not spoken of equally to men in society.

The Story of an Hour is short, yet, contains important examples of gender roles in marriage. They are important because they represent how women felt married in the 19th century due to male dominance that manifested throughout marriages all over the world. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is a wife that is, at first, seen as distraught, because of her husband’s death. She starts to cry and run to her room, to soon be lifted with the joy that she is now free. It is clear that she felt trapped in the marriage and is now happy that there is no one controlling her any longer. Mrs. Mallard is a prime example of women in marriages in the 19th century, and even some today. Unfortunately, they have to experience sexism from their husbands. Women are dominated by men in marriage and are expected to acquire the stereotypical gender roles.

Their roles were still emphasized as wives and mothers. Women were viewed as naturally suited to a different social role than men, and sometimes known as inferior to men. This was a social issue because woman had to be told where they were allowed to go and what they were allowed to do according to their husbands.

The relationship between men and women presented in the short story “The Story of an Hour”, is that men dominated society. A Woman’s freedom was nonexistent. Throughout this short story, women are presented as powerless and dependent while men were considered to be superior. Women were tied down through marriage, such as, having been expected of doing as the man pleased without having any say in the relationship. Through a feminist critical perspective, this short story supports a patriarchal society that is presented though marriage and women’s lack of freedom.

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.