Blog #7 assignment

Caleb Phillips
ENG102.0826
Professor: Dr. Luke Vasileiou
5/4/10

Women in Literature

The stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck share a similar theme. Both stories have a female main character that illustrates what it was like for a woman to live in the past. They had fewer rights and were not respected the same way that the modern woman is. The main characters share the experience of living with these inequalities. However, how they deal with their experiences, as well as the outcome differ for both women. Even though both stories share a similar theme, there are differences within the story that can be attributed to the differing sexes of the authors, as well as the differing times in which they are written.

Louise Mallard is the main character of “The Story of an Hour.” She is a married woman that is living during a time when women had little say in who they were married to, and were fully dependent on their spouse. Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany when she is misinformed that her husband has passed, “She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’… [t]here would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Kate Chopin, 317). Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now free from the oppression of marriage, where men dominated the relationship. However, she soon finds out that her husband is actually still alive. Yet, since she became so emotionally invested in her newfound future, she suffers a heart attack and dies the moment it is taken away.

Kate Chopin is the author of “The Story of an Hour.” The story was written in 1894, a time when women were expected to be submissive towards their husbands. The males were the focal point of marriage back then, and therefore women lived to serve them. Since Kate Chopin was a woman who lived during the late 1800s to the early 1900s, she experienced the woes of marriage for women back then. She was probably speaking through this story on her own true feelings about the topics of women and marriage. This is perhaps why Mrs. Mallard dies in the end of her endeavor; Kate Chopin is saying she would rather die than to go back to living under the oppression of a man.

Elisa Allen, the main character of “The Chrysanthemums,” is also a married woman who is kept down by her husband as well as society’s view on the roles of women. Elisa tries to portray herself as a strong woman that should be regarded as an equal to men. This is evident when she responds to the man from the caravan when he tells her his life is no life for a woman, “Her upper lip raised a little, showing her teeth. ‘How do you know? How can you tell?” (John Steinbeck, 197). Elisa is angered when told something is not for her because of her sex. However, in the end Elisa gives in to her role as a wife and nothing more. She gives up her aspirations to be seen on an equal level with men not only in her marriage, but in society. Elisa ended up realizing that her fight against the unfair treatment towards women was futile, and in the end describes herself as a weakly old woman; a stereotype furthered by sexism.

The story, “The Chrysanthemums,” was written by author John Steinbeck in 1938. Women were definitely more outspoken during this time than the late 1800s. However, they were still discriminated against by the “superior” sex—men. This is some-what portrayed in this story. For example, John Steinbeck writes his views on women that are trying to rival mans place in society and become more independent. As a man, in his story he decides to bring them back down and put them “in their place.” Steinbeck makes Elisa go from a woman striving to be seen as an equal of men into a weak old woman. In a way he is telling women that they should just accept their roles in society because it is where they belong.

Both of these stories deal with women that are living in the past with rights that were less than ideal. They were seen as inferior to a group of people whom belonged to the same race. However, even though these stories share that same theme of women that are living with these inequalities, their dynamics differed. For example, “The Story of an Hour” was about a woman who realizes, after her husband’s “death,” that she actually has a life she can live now. This newfound independence is so meaningful to her, that she dies instead of going back to living under her husband. “The Chrysanthemums” deals with a woman who aspires for equal treatment, and tries to show how strong women can actually be. However, she loses sight of her goals and resorts back to living how her society run by men wants her to live. Both stories differences can be attributed to the opposing views of gender and time that the authors of each story had.


References:

Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” LITERATURE: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. 6th ed. Comp. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson: Longman. 316-318. Print.

Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” LITERATURE: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. 6th ed. Comp. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson: Longman. 192-199. Print.