Kate Chopin is acclaimed for her fictional stories surrounded around the implicit oppression that the sexual caste system had on women in the late 1800’s. In this time period women were treated as nothing more than simple possessions that provided a service to their male counterparts, rather than the sentient human beings that they were. Women began to experience conflicting thoughts and feelings when it came to their responsibilities in marriage, but were expected to remain meek and passive. Due to her style of writing, Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” courageously broke the silence and created a platform for a new women’s narrative, one without the unrealistic confines of societal norm’s, as well as the emotional and physical imprisonment
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It is understood that Louise is a meek woman with passive thoughts, often proclaiming such simple and lackluster things such as, “And yet she loved him—sometimes. Often she did not.” Passionless and almost questionable statements, ones where the reader can feel the emptiness in Louise’s heart, are tossed into the narrative often, as if they were plucked from the wrong story and placed here by accident. One might ask, what married women would say such things about her dead husband? Only, this does not stay true for …show more content…
In hopes of finding personal happiness Chopin unintentionally evoked a feminist revolution, one that gave attention to the slavery of a muted voice that women were entrapped in. Had Kate Chopin lived to experience life in the 21st century, presumably she would be disappointed to see such little progress made in the way of feminist suppression. While change has occurred, women are still expected to speak, act and assume traditional roles in society. The pressure of marrying and having children, staying in unhappy marriages due to lack of financial independence, not taking a promotion at work due to childcare issues, and keeping appearances in public are all issues women still face today. Empowering women and young girls to rise up from the patriarchal past and celebrate their gender differences is necessary to cultivate a successful future for generations to
It is understood that Louise is a meek woman with passive thoughts, often proclaiming such simple and lackluster things such as, “And yet she loved him—sometimes. Often she did not.” Passionless and almost questionable statements, ones where the reader can feel the emptiness in Louise’s heart, are tossed into the narrative often, as if they were plucked from the wrong story and placed here by accident. One might ask, what married women would say such things about her dead husband? Only, this does not stay true for …show more content…
In hopes of finding personal happiness Chopin unintentionally evoked a feminist revolution, one that gave attention to the slavery of a muted voice that women were entrapped in. Had Kate Chopin lived to experience life in the 21st century, presumably she would be disappointed to see such little progress made in the way of feminist suppression. While change has occurred, women are still expected to speak, act and assume traditional roles in society. The pressure of marrying and having children, staying in unhappy marriages due to lack of financial independence, not taking a promotion at work due to childcare issues, and keeping appearances in public are all issues women still face today. Empowering women and young girls to rise up from the patriarchal past and celebrate their gender differences is necessary to cultivate a successful future for generations to