Compare And Contrast The Yellow Wallpaper And The Story Of An Hour

The role of women in society has changed drastically over the centuries. Women went from being subordinate to their husbands to having the right to not only live their lives freely but have minds of their own. In the stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The story of an Hour” both authors use a historical setting to show the place that women had in society. Both authors suggest that a women can feel trapped in her marriage and lose her sense of self. In the story the “Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator who was unamed felt so trapped by her husband that she was drove deeper and deeper into insanity. She started to envision a woman escaping from the the yellow wallpaper. In the “Story of an Hour” the women is so excited about the death of her husband that when she finds out he is alive she has a heart attack .In the stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of an Hour” the author uses a similar setting and a similar catharsis to show that …show more content…
For instance, in “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator feels that there is no other way to escape her marriage other then ripping off the wallpaper. The women is drove into such deep insanity that in the end she “ got out at last” in spite of her husband and Jane (Gilman 559). And she had “pulled off most of the paper” so they could not put her back (Gilman 559). The narrator was trying to escape from the people in her life who were constantly holding her back. Similarity, in “The Story of an Hour” the narrator feels so trapped that the only way she can seek freedom is through dieing.When she thinks her husband is dead she is so excited that she says “free, free, free!” (Chopin 1175). When she realizes he is alive she dies of sheer disappointment. Although, both women chose different ways to cope with their grievances both stories have a tragic and iconic ending. Both stories had similar themes in that both women wanted independence from their