Most individuals enter a marriage with certain expectations; they expect to be loved, cared for, cherished and above all, respected. However, this is not always the case. Marriage can quickly transform from a wonderful holy union to a dangerous and oppressive force. In Sandra Cisneros’ “Women Hollering Creek,” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story Of An Hour,” we are told the story of two women whose expectations of marriage failed in comparison to their reality, as well as how drastically this influenced their mental stability and actions during and after their marriage. The stories express how all marriages, even the kindest unions, may be inherently oppressive. Sandra Cisneros’ “Women Hollering Creek,” describes the life of Cleofilas, a Mexican
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Even marriages that seem so wonderful on the outside can embody oppressive tendencies. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin presents the reader with a woman, Louise Mallard, who is clearly overjoyed that her husband has died. Mrs. Mallard is a young woman with severe heart trouble who is subtlety informed by her sister and her husband’s friend that her husband was involved in a train accident and has passed away. Louise is initially inconsolable, “[weeping] at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister 's arms”(1). However, despite her overwhelming grief, Louise nonetheless feels “monstrous joy” when she learns her husband has died. This unusual reaction however, is not out of malice. Louise acknowledges that she’ll cry at Brently’s funeral because she truly cared for him. In fact, she states that she loved him on and off over the course of their marriage. He fulfilled the typical role of “husband”, providing her with a decent lifestyle, caring and watching over her because of her illness (although Louise probably would have described it as smothering her). From the outside, her marriage seems perfect: her husband never beat or cheated on her, he most likely never even rose his voice to her. He did every thing a “good husband” was expected to do and was a good, loving …show more content…
The husband ruled the home and the marriage, while the wife was expected to take care of the house (by doing chores, and caring for the children) and most importantly, obey her husband. This caused a lot of women (like Mrs. Mallard) to feel trapped inside their marriages, as if they, by getting married, had lost their identity and freedom. After all, most women in the 19th century were usually described as virtuous and obedient, and by those standards, Louise most likely was. This is why she views Brently’s death as a release from
Even marriages that seem so wonderful on the outside can embody oppressive tendencies. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin presents the reader with a woman, Louise Mallard, who is clearly overjoyed that her husband has died. Mrs. Mallard is a young woman with severe heart trouble who is subtlety informed by her sister and her husband’s friend that her husband was involved in a train accident and has passed away. Louise is initially inconsolable, “[weeping] at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister 's arms”(1). However, despite her overwhelming grief, Louise nonetheless feels “monstrous joy” when she learns her husband has died. This unusual reaction however, is not out of malice. Louise acknowledges that she’ll cry at Brently’s funeral because she truly cared for him. In fact, she states that she loved him on and off over the course of their marriage. He fulfilled the typical role of “husband”, providing her with a decent lifestyle, caring and watching over her because of her illness (although Louise probably would have described it as smothering her). From the outside, her marriage seems perfect: her husband never beat or cheated on her, he most likely never even rose his voice to her. He did every thing a “good husband” was expected to do and was a good, loving …show more content…
The husband ruled the home and the marriage, while the wife was expected to take care of the house (by doing chores, and caring for the children) and most importantly, obey her husband. This caused a lot of women (like Mrs. Mallard) to feel trapped inside their marriages, as if they, by getting married, had lost their identity and freedom. After all, most women in the 19th century were usually described as virtuous and obedient, and by those standards, Louise most likely was. This is why she views Brently’s death as a release from