“The Story of an Hour” & “The Yellow Wallpaper”
The two short stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Kate Chopin are written in the late 19th century a time when women are unable to find their own happiness in the institution of marriage or in motherhood. This is not because the happiness is not found in marriage but because during this time women are not given enough freedom and the husbands set many restrictions on their freedom. The two short stories show clearly the patriarchal oppression during the late 19th century society where women have no say even on matters concerning themselves. These two short stories can be analyzed and synthesized through the same theme they share that of women …show more content…
In the intense one hour of “The Story of an Hour,” Louise only contemplates on her new found happiness and freedom. In that one hour Louise realizes that “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Chopin 353). Jane also tries to free herself at studying the yellow wallpaper despite her husband’s ignorant and dismissal attitude. She finds something to keep her alive especially when she says, “I am getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper. Perhaps because of the wallpaper” (Gilman …show more content…
She cannot believe that at last she is free from the patriarchal oppression and subordination but her husband’s death has brought forth the one thing she had yearned for. Jane, on the other hand, after studying and writing so much about the wallpaper, is able to decipher what is beyond the powerful pattern in the yellow wallpaper which symbolizes her lonely and hopeless world. Behind the wallpaper she sees a woman held captive and in order to free her she believes that she is the only one who can free the woman and as such sets on destroying the wallpaper in order to set free the women imprisoned
The two short stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Kate Chopin are written in the late 19th century a time when women are unable to find their own happiness in the institution of marriage or in motherhood. This is not because the happiness is not found in marriage but because during this time women are not given enough freedom and the husbands set many restrictions on their freedom. The two short stories show clearly the patriarchal oppression during the late 19th century society where women have no say even on matters concerning themselves. These two short stories can be analyzed and synthesized through the same theme they share that of women …show more content…
In the intense one hour of “The Story of an Hour,” Louise only contemplates on her new found happiness and freedom. In that one hour Louise realizes that “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Chopin 353). Jane also tries to free herself at studying the yellow wallpaper despite her husband’s ignorant and dismissal attitude. She finds something to keep her alive especially when she says, “I am getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper. Perhaps because of the wallpaper” (Gilman …show more content…
She cannot believe that at last she is free from the patriarchal oppression and subordination but her husband’s death has brought forth the one thing she had yearned for. Jane, on the other hand, after studying and writing so much about the wallpaper, is able to decipher what is beyond the powerful pattern in the yellow wallpaper which symbolizes her lonely and hopeless world. Behind the wallpaper she sees a woman held captive and in order to free her she believes that she is the only one who can free the woman and as such sets on destroying the wallpaper in order to set free the women imprisoned