Feminist Perspectives in a Story of an Hour Essay example

Feminist Perspectives in a Story of an Hour A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time, by Ann Bail Howard, discusses the nature of the female characters in Kate Chopin’s novel’s and short stories. Howard suggests that the women in Chopin’s stories are longing for independence and feel torn between the feminine duties of a married woman and the freedom associated with self-reliance. Howard’s view is correct to a point, but Chopin’s female characters can be viewed as more radically feminist than Howard realizes. Rather than simply being torn between independent and dependant versions of her personality, â€Å"The Story of an Hour’s† Mrs. Mallard actually rejoices in her newfound freedom, and, in the culmination of the story, the position of the woman†¦show more content†¦When Mrs. Mallard is finally offered the opportunity to throw off the burdens of marriage and accept a new life of independence, she â€Å"breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long†. This suggest a strong contrast between Mrs. Mallard’s view of the position of the married and non-married woman. In one case she would almost rather die; in the other, she embraces life with zeal. This truly proves that Howard’s characterization of the roles and duties of the nineteenth century married woman are precise and well reflected in the case of Mrs. Mallard. Howard’s argument falters, however, when she fails to recognize the truly radical feminist scope of Chopin’s characters and the messages that she seeks to impart. For example, at one point Howard asserts that â€Å"Chopin makes no suggestion that Mrs. Mallard would not mourn for her husband, a man she loved, a man apparently cut off by a railroad accident in the prime of his life†. While it is probably true that Chopin did not wish to alarm readers by directly declaring that Mrs. Mallard did not or would not mourn for her dead husband, something really is amiss when Mrs. Mallard â€Å"did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away toShow MoreRelated A Feminist Perspective of Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour753 Words   |  4 PagesA Feminist Perspective of Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin employs the tool of irony in The Story of an Hour to carefully convey the problem inherent in womens unequal role in marital relationships. Chopin develops a careful plot in order to demonstrate this idea, one not socially acceptable at the end of the 19th century, and unfortunately, a concept that still does not appreciate widespread acceptance today, 100 years later as we near the end of the 20th century. Louise MallardsRead MoreThe Feminist Movement By Kate Chopin And Boys And Girls By Alice Munro1231 Words   |  5 Pagesfall into a sense of entrapment brought on by the superiority complex of men. The feminist movement, which began in the late nineteenth century, works to disprove this false perception. The movement describes a fight for political, cultural, and economic rights equal to that of men. Two short stories, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin and â€Å"Boys and Girls† by Alice Munro, relate experiences from female perspectives, highli ghting oppression against women. 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Oppression : The Continuous Struggle For Equality1590 Words   |  7 Pageshowever, feminist (women and men) are fighting against these controversial roles implemented to them by society and culture. Many have the urge to presume that a feminist is a stereotypical man-hating activist who believes all the troubles in the world are caused by men. Feminism is anything but a stereotype; in fact the definition of feminism is â€Å"the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.† Equality is the main aspect that ties feminist togetherRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Kate Chopin s The Story Of An Hour 1274 Words   |  6 PagesHaley Morrow Mrs. Crook AP English 25 Sept. 2015 Feminist Literary Theory in The Story of an Hour Women are no stranger to a socially constrained lifestyle and society, especially in the late 1800’s. Women were believed to live a certain way, fulfill certain roles and duties in the household, and to be extremely fragile and weak. This type of culture still exists today but not to the extreme that it once was. Kate Chopin, however, not afraid speak out against the implications of society breaks freeRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1205 Words   |  5 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, written in 1892, is a short story told from the perspective of a woman believed to be â€Å"crazy†. The narrator believes her craziness to be a form of sickness. However, the narrator’s husband, John, believes her to be suffering from a temporary nervous depression. As the narrator’s condition worsens, she begins to see a woman moving from behind the yellow wallpaper in their bedroom. The wallpaper captures the narrator’s attention and as a result drivesRead MoreEssay on A Male Dominated Society During the 19th Century952 Words   |  4 PagesA world where women had rights, control, and power was a fantasy. According to Hall, he states, â€Å"Key to all feminist methodologies is the belief that patriarchal oppression of women through history has been profound and multifaceted† (Hall 202). In other words, it is known that the male takes complete cruel supremacy over the years in our history. In The Awakening and â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, they all convey the struggles that femalesRead MoreThe Oppressive Force in Marriage 1266 Words   |  6 PagesIn the novels written by Charlotte Gilman and Kate Chopin, the concept of marriage is contradicted from the romanticized relationship to a notion of imprisonment. Through the feminist perspective the reader gains a sense in which marriag e may be the primary cause to gender oppression. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Gilman’s central figure, who is unknown to the reader, is metaphorically imprisoned in a house in which the warden is her own husband. In contrast to this Chopin’s Character, Louise Mallard