Gender roles – the feminine
“The Story of an Hour” (1894)
This short story took me by surprise with the unexpected twist of Mrs. Mallards feelings and the ending. The notion of gender conformity and performance is briefly set free in the mind of Mrs. Mallard. I was moved and felt my emotions provoked to sadness and some happiness for her that she now did not have to live in the conformity of the female role of that period. The period of time where women’s role was to be married, serve the husband, home, and kids if any, and have no choice in the matter. It made me wonder if the only time a woman was free as Mrs. Mallard felt was in the death of her husband, a time as a Widow. This would be a time where she was free to run her house, do …show more content…
Suddenly the sister cries out a piercing cry and alas Mrs. Mallard has dropped dead. In the end, the doctors said she had died of heart disease, but wrongly classifies the death as ‘of the joy that kills.’ Men in that period assumed that females look forward to this life of their assigned gender role and enjoy the responsibilities that go with it; never once considering that women did not have a choice and that in particular Mrs. Mallard was actually unhappy with her life as a wife. https://youtu.be/Bo7o2LYATDc The video I watched is of Professor Judith Butler: Your Behavior Creates Your Gender. She refers to gender as performative, not something that we are born with but, acting in a certain role to present expected outcomes. As male and females we are taught how our gender roles are to perform, how we should act, and role play as presenting ourselves as a man or a woman.
I found this relevant for the what I read in that Mrs. Mallard, was living in a performative role prevalent in that time. I agree that men and women are taught how to each be a gender and depending on the culture what enacting roles are expected. In Mrs. Mallards case it was expected that she live her life for her husband and even though she was conforming, ultimately, she did not want
“The Story of an Hour” (1894)
This short story took me by surprise with the unexpected twist of Mrs. Mallards feelings and the ending. The notion of gender conformity and performance is briefly set free in the mind of Mrs. Mallard. I was moved and felt my emotions provoked to sadness and some happiness for her that she now did not have to live in the conformity of the female role of that period. The period of time where women’s role was to be married, serve the husband, home, and kids if any, and have no choice in the matter. It made me wonder if the only time a woman was free as Mrs. Mallard felt was in the death of her husband, a time as a Widow. This would be a time where she was free to run her house, do …show more content…
Suddenly the sister cries out a piercing cry and alas Mrs. Mallard has dropped dead. In the end, the doctors said she had died of heart disease, but wrongly classifies the death as ‘of the joy that kills.’ Men in that period assumed that females look forward to this life of their assigned gender role and enjoy the responsibilities that go with it; never once considering that women did not have a choice and that in particular Mrs. Mallard was actually unhappy with her life as a wife. https://youtu.be/Bo7o2LYATDc The video I watched is of Professor Judith Butler: Your Behavior Creates Your Gender. She refers to gender as performative, not something that we are born with but, acting in a certain role to present expected outcomes. As male and females we are taught how our gender roles are to perform, how we should act, and role play as presenting ourselves as a man or a woman.
I found this relevant for the what I read in that Mrs. Mallard, was living in a performative role prevalent in that time. I agree that men and women are taught how to each be a gender and depending on the culture what enacting roles are expected. In Mrs. Mallards case it was expected that she live her life for her husband and even though she was conforming, ultimately, she did not want