The Portrayal of the Relationship Between the Sexes in the Short Stories of Chopin and Hardy

Elizabeth LeBlanc places The Awakening in an interesting context in her essay “The Metaphorical Lesbian,” as gender criticism must, for Chopin wrote the novel at the end of the 19th century, when homosexuality as an identity emerged culturally, at least in terms of the gay male identity, as proffered by Oscar Wilde across the Atlantic. Lesbianism, too, started to make its debut on the cultural stage, particularly in literature. However, although lesbianism started to emerge during Chopin’s lifetime, it seems doubtful that it played any formative role for Edna’s characterization. Yet gender criticism often requires a reading of a text in light of gender and sexuality regardless

     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”.

In ‘The Story of an Hour’ the struggles and hardships of women in day to day life are conveyed. In ‘The Story of an Hour’, Chopin implies that marriage, even when

The plight of women is evident in the texts presented in“The story of An Hour” and “Hills like White Elephants”. “The story of An Hour” is a short story presented to a reader, the story of a woman whose name (Mrs. Mallard) is interestingly only known after the death of her husband. The illustration of the invisibility of women in Chopin’s work is evident by the use of her literary style. In “The story of An Hour”, Mrs. Mallard seems to live in the shadow of her husband, similar to the story line in “Hills like White Elephants”, a story about a traveling couple to Barcelona. Likened to Mrs. Mallard, who yearns exclusivity from her husband, the woman in in “ Hills like White Elephants” –Jig, is repressed and under the control of her husband who eventually convinces her to procure an abortion. Despite the fact that their men appear stifling, the devotion and love of these women to the men is both trepidating and unexplainable. Both women in hills of white elephants and the story of an hour devoted their lives for their companions as they felt the need to be taken care of. This manuscript therefore provides an analysis of the situation of both women.

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.

In all the stories, the authors commonly depict propriety in marriage, a yearning for freedom from convention, loveless marriages, wealth and unconventional women. Chopin and Gilman imply that the mental illnesses experienced by their characters are due mainly, to male

It is important to consider the world and society at the time Chopin began to write and publish her short stories and books. To really gain an appreciation and understanding for her works, one must consider the circumstances surrounding the author. The different expectations of the roles of men and women and the segregating line between the races. Chopin’s work would be

Kate Chopin is a renowned author of the twentieth century. She is famous for her short stories that were written in the late 1800’s. Most of her works were published in magazines at the time but were a posthumous success because of societal dissent. The beliefs and values exhibited in her works of literature are far ahead of their time by representing women’s desire for independence from being a homemaker. One of her most popular short stories, “Desiree’s Baby,” shows how women had no choice over their own fate and were bound by the will of their husbands during Chopin’s lifetime. It was not well received by the public until years after Chopin’s death because the story draws sympathetic feelings towards the situation in which the main character Desiree finds herself in. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Chopin uses symbolism and irony to present the message of how the innocent suffer unjustly as a result of judgmental attitudes; she does this through the main characters of Armand and Desiree.

Kate Chopin’s 1894 short-story “The Story of an Hour” demonstrates a negative view on marriage in the nineteenth century. This narrative illustrated a woman that was an awe over the death of beloved husband by describing her overjoyed emotions as she ascends from mourning numbness to elation through brilliant use of word choice. Throughout the writer’s story, it is introduced that the main character has an inner desire for independence and self-identity. The word choice used to account the outside world was given at minimal, however her inner thought was greatly noted. Mrs. Mallard’s recognition of her own unhappiness gives her a “burst of liberation” from male oppression.

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

The use of setting in literary papers develops interesting and captivating stories. “The Story of an Hour” is based on Kate Chopin use setting as a tactic to build suspense in her narratives. On the other hand, the use of setting by Chopin in “Story of an Hour” is used to generate suspense and mystery.

      Critical readings of Chopin’s works often note the tension between female characters and the society that surrounds them.  Margaret Bauer suggests that Chopin is concerned with exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146).  Often, critics focus on the importance of conflict in these works and the way in which Chopin uses gender constraints on two levels, to open an avenue for the discussion of feminine identity and, at the same time, to critique the patriarchal society that denies that identity.  Kay Butler suggests that “entrapment, not freedom, is the source of Chopin’s

In discussing content, like all great authors, Chopin use symbols and metaphor to allow us to look within the subtext of their works. And many of these symbols and metaphors work to build upon their style, heavily composed of irony. As these are discussed, the themes of the obligations of women in marriage and illusions of independence, will come forward.

To illustrate a difference in an element of fiction, we commence with plot. We can conclude that Chopin has numerous techniques to implement her notions and effectively carry out disparate plots by comparing her two short stories. In “The Story of an Hour” by Chopin, the main character, Louise Mallard, “died of heart disease” at the end of the story (Chopin 181). What this melancholy ending does for this story is create a tone of dreariness. In spite of this method, in “The Storm” by Chopin, at the end of this fearsome storm, “everyone was happy” (Chopin 123). Chopin’s approach to ending this story was unlike her approach to ending “The Story of an Hour.” The pleasing ending of “The Storm” creates a fulfilled, content tone for the story. Demonstrating that two stories transcribed by the same author end in two utterly divergent

In Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour” focuses on the character Mrs. Mallard and how she comes to terms with the death of her husband. But the story also subtly suggests how woman were labelled as these domesticated creatures and controlled by societies principles in that time and age. This can be interpreted in the setting of the story and the characterization of the individuals within the story.