The Loneliness of Marriage and Solitude Relationships and communication go hand in hand. If a family relationship or marriage is to be successful with a strong connection between people there must be a sharing of feelings, emotions, and ideas. Before women’s rights, this is basically non-existent. At the time men and women each have their place in society. Women do not speak their mind. They do what they are told and go on with their life without debate. In the short stories, “The Story of an Hour,” by author Kate Chopin which takes place in the 1890’s and “A Rose for Emily,” by author William Faulkner which takes place in the 1930’s the two women at the forefront are Mrs. Louise Mallard and Miss Emily Grierson, respectively. The stories are
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Mallard’s husband, Brentley, controls everything she does and for this reason, she wishes for freedom from her marriage. She is distraught with her marriage and displays signs of physical health problems when Chopin opens the story by writing, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble” (15). She has a physical heart problem and also has a broken heart from the distress and unhappiness in her marriage. She feels smothered by her husband’s demands and wants to be free to live life on her terms.
On the other hand, in “A Rose for Emily,” Miss Emily wants to get married and her father will not allow her to marry because he does not believe that there is any man good enough for her. She displays signs of a mental breakdown after the death of her father when Faulkner writes:
The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. …show more content…
Mrs. Mallard is a prisoner of marriage, complicated by heart problems. Miss Emily is a prisoner in solitude, complicated by mental health issues. One can only imagine the life both of these women can have if given the opportunity to freely communicate their true feelings. If Mrs. Mallard is allowed the opportunity to communicate her true feelings to Brentley, she can have a truly free and joyous life, either in marriage or alone. If Miss Emily has the opportunity to communicate how she truly feels, her life can afford her true love, a husband, and children. Then, at last, both will have the true respect of the men in their life and the opportunity to live the lives they have always dreamed about.
In the end, both women “seemingly” achieve their dream – one is free of marriage and has an hour of happiness, the other embracing a marriage, for a lifetime of happiness. Sadly, even though both women achieve their dream, neither one is truly able to live their life the way they envisioned it would be, as both dreams are realized at a terrible
Mallard’s husband, Brentley, controls everything she does and for this reason, she wishes for freedom from her marriage. She is distraught with her marriage and displays signs of physical health problems when Chopin opens the story by writing, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble” (15). She has a physical heart problem and also has a broken heart from the distress and unhappiness in her marriage. She feels smothered by her husband’s demands and wants to be free to live life on her terms.
On the other hand, in “A Rose for Emily,” Miss Emily wants to get married and her father will not allow her to marry because he does not believe that there is any man good enough for her. She displays signs of a mental breakdown after the death of her father when Faulkner writes:
The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. …show more content…
Mrs. Mallard is a prisoner of marriage, complicated by heart problems. Miss Emily is a prisoner in solitude, complicated by mental health issues. One can only imagine the life both of these women can have if given the opportunity to freely communicate their true feelings. If Mrs. Mallard is allowed the opportunity to communicate her true feelings to Brentley, she can have a truly free and joyous life, either in marriage or alone. If Miss Emily has the opportunity to communicate how she truly feels, her life can afford her true love, a husband, and children. Then, at last, both will have the true respect of the men in their life and the opportunity to live the lives they have always dreamed about.
In the end, both women “seemingly” achieve their dream – one is free of marriage and has an hour of happiness, the other embracing a marriage, for a lifetime of happiness. Sadly, even though both women achieve their dream, neither one is truly able to live their life the way they envisioned it would be, as both dreams are realized at a terrible