Marriage during the 1900’s caused women to give up their own dreams and happiness. Kate Chopin, a very controversial writer, published two short stories in the 1890’s. “A Pair of Silk Stockings” and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin show how in marriage a woman must defer her own dreams for the dreams of others. “A Pair of Silk Stockings” follows the day of Mrs. Sommers, a woman who has a rare day all to herself. Mrs. Sommers finally has an opportunity to experience joyous life. Before going shopping Mrs. Sommers was so busy “getting the children fed and the place righted” that she had “forgotten to eat any luncheon at all” (Chopin 1). Mrs. Sommers represents the cruel realities of marriage through how she does not freely get to participate
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Sommers also sees a play, and she “absorbed it and enjoyed it” (Chopin 3). For Mrs. Sommers when the play was finished “it was like a dream ended” (Chopin 3). Mrs. Sommers experiences what her normal life could be like if she did not have an oppressive husband. She did not want to go back to her usual life, and she just wished “that the cable car would never stop anywhere” (Chopin 3). Mrs. Sommers had to go back to her unfulfilling life where she worried about everyone's dreams except her own. “The Story of An Hour” shares a similar story of Mrs. Mallard, a woman who discovers the death of her husband and then is overcome with joy. Mrs. Mallard depicts a woman who is sick of her oppressive married life and when she discovers the death of her husband she dies “of the joy that kills” (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard was so excited to “live for herself” and to not wrongly have to live for a fully capable man in her life (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard dies at the end of the story, which is better than realizing that she had to go back to her old life without any dreams of her own. Women need to stray away from the norm and chase their own dreams in order to find …show more content…
Barbara Welter was a historian who wrote about social prejudice in the 1960’s. Welter examines the expectations placed on women during the 1860’s through publishing “The Cult of True Womanhood” in 1966. Welter discusses how women needed certain characteristics if they were to be “a true woman,” and the core characteristic was “religion or piety” (Welter 233). Being forced upon women, religion “was so vital” to a woman's life, and being irreligious was “too awful to contemplate” (Welter 234). Religion was viewed “as a kind of tranquilizer,” and it was supposedly “better to pray than to think” as a woman (Welter 244). Religion was constantly being pushed upon women in order to make them accept their place in society. This is unfair to women and this should not have been able to happen. Women were manipulated to think that they had to be religious when it was truly their choice. Women were constantly being warned “not to let their literary or intellectual pursuits take them away from God” (Welter 234). Religion was also unfairly used a tool to not let women become educated. It was proclaimed that “religion is exactly what a woman needs, for it gives her that dignity that best suits her dependence” (Atwater qtd. in Welter 244). This is a terrible generalization because religion was not always what made a person happy, which can be seen through the iconic Rosie the
Sommers also sees a play, and she “absorbed it and enjoyed it” (Chopin 3). For Mrs. Sommers when the play was finished “it was like a dream ended” (Chopin 3). Mrs. Sommers experiences what her normal life could be like if she did not have an oppressive husband. She did not want to go back to her usual life, and she just wished “that the cable car would never stop anywhere” (Chopin 3). Mrs. Sommers had to go back to her unfulfilling life where she worried about everyone's dreams except her own. “The Story of An Hour” shares a similar story of Mrs. Mallard, a woman who discovers the death of her husband and then is overcome with joy. Mrs. Mallard depicts a woman who is sick of her oppressive married life and when she discovers the death of her husband she dies “of the joy that kills” (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard was so excited to “live for herself” and to not wrongly have to live for a fully capable man in her life (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard dies at the end of the story, which is better than realizing that she had to go back to her old life without any dreams of her own. Women need to stray away from the norm and chase their own dreams in order to find …show more content…
Barbara Welter was a historian who wrote about social prejudice in the 1960’s. Welter examines the expectations placed on women during the 1860’s through publishing “The Cult of True Womanhood” in 1966. Welter discusses how women needed certain characteristics if they were to be “a true woman,” and the core characteristic was “religion or piety” (Welter 233). Being forced upon women, religion “was so vital” to a woman's life, and being irreligious was “too awful to contemplate” (Welter 234). Religion was viewed “as a kind of tranquilizer,” and it was supposedly “better to pray than to think” as a woman (Welter 244). Religion was constantly being pushed upon women in order to make them accept their place in society. This is unfair to women and this should not have been able to happen. Women were manipulated to think that they had to be religious when it was truly their choice. Women were constantly being warned “not to let their literary or intellectual pursuits take them away from God” (Welter 234). Religion was also unfairly used a tool to not let women become educated. It was proclaimed that “religion is exactly what a woman needs, for it gives her that dignity that best suits her dependence” (Atwater qtd. in Welter 244). This is a terrible generalization because religion was not always what made a person happy, which can be seen through the iconic Rosie the