In a country and decade plagued with crime, three women are murdered each day by a current or former partner. Every minute, twenty women are victums of partner violence. And every nine seconds, a woman is beaten. Surprsingly, this country is the United States and the year is 2016. Even in the modern world, women still face discrimination. Whether it is over clothing restrictions. wage gap, discrimination in the work place or catcalling. Although it appears that the lives of women are oppressive, two centuries ago times were even harder for women. The short story, “The Story of an Hour”, by Kate Chopin, exbinits the extent to how women felt trapped in marriage. As opposed to becoming a united team as a couple, wives were “owned” by their husbands.
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The Married Women’s Property Acts, New York and the Custody of Infants Act, gave married women rights that made it easier to pursue divorce. The Married Women’s Property Acts, in 1848, allowed women to hold onto their property. Before, when women got married, they lost their identity. Now, with the right to hold onto their property, married women no longer lost their identity. In addition, in 1860, married women were able to be guardians of their children. If a woman got divorced, she would be able to gain custody of their children. However, the short story, “The Story of an Hour” was written after these acts were put in place. Exhibiting that although it appeared married women 's right were improving, they were still profoundly oppressed. The expectation that a woman must put her husband 's needs before hers remained. And as divorce rates surged between 1870 and 1920, the negative stigma towards marriage intensified. It was said that “the reasons for the changes to the American family were the result of women’s selfish desires and a devaluation of the role of motherhood and housewife”. Women who got divorced were not being good mothers and wives if they got a divorce: which was their sole purpose in life. If a woman got divorced, she was being selfish. In response, middle-class women felt further trapped in a marriage. They were too afraid of the social consequences of getting a divorce: social outcast, no friends, people ignoring them. It soon became the job of a wife in the nineteenth century to create a calm, soothing environment for their stressed husband. Propaganda soon started, attempting to convince wives to stay with their husbands; The idea of divorce, left their husbands stressed and depressed. In these images, married women are depicted taking care of their sickly husband 's. Often the wife is pictured craddling her baby, or draped over
The Married Women’s Property Acts, New York and the Custody of Infants Act, gave married women rights that made it easier to pursue divorce. The Married Women’s Property Acts, in 1848, allowed women to hold onto their property. Before, when women got married, they lost their identity. Now, with the right to hold onto their property, married women no longer lost their identity. In addition, in 1860, married women were able to be guardians of their children. If a woman got divorced, she would be able to gain custody of their children. However, the short story, “The Story of an Hour” was written after these acts were put in place. Exhibiting that although it appeared married women 's right were improving, they were still profoundly oppressed. The expectation that a woman must put her husband 's needs before hers remained. And as divorce rates surged between 1870 and 1920, the negative stigma towards marriage intensified. It was said that “the reasons for the changes to the American family were the result of women’s selfish desires and a devaluation of the role of motherhood and housewife”. Women who got divorced were not being good mothers and wives if they got a divorce: which was their sole purpose in life. If a woman got divorced, she was being selfish. In response, middle-class women felt further trapped in a marriage. They were too afraid of the social consequences of getting a divorce: social outcast, no friends, people ignoring them. It soon became the job of a wife in the nineteenth century to create a calm, soothing environment for their stressed husband. Propaganda soon started, attempting to convince wives to stay with their husbands; The idea of divorce, left their husbands stressed and depressed. In these images, married women are depicted taking care of their sickly husband 's. Often the wife is pictured craddling her baby, or draped over