The Story of an Hour

Introduction

Kate Choplin in her mini story 'The story of an hour' depicts very beautifully the yearnings and longings of a woman in the 19th century. The story is short and beautiful, and the underlying message is that women are just as humans as men and they have the same yearning desire for freedom as the men in their life.

Women in the 19th century

When understanding the story, it is important to throw some light on the life or women in the 19th century. The life for women back then was much different from the life of women in today's age. Women in those days were not considered at par with men. In fact, they were considered inferior to men. The sole purpose of a woman's life back in those days was to grow up and get married to a man, after which she was expected to submit herself, in body and soul, to the man in her life. This submission meant doing everything that the man asked you to do and living the way he wanted you to live. The woman was only a mean of a man's pleasure and reproduction. She had no rights, no opinions, no sentiments no emotions.

Women in those days were ill treated to the extent that they were not allowed to choose a way of life for themselves. Once married, a woman could not escape the bondage even if the marriage was deprived of the conjugal bliss the woman so deserved (Nochlin, p. 14).

Women were controlled by the men in their life, and each woman was expected to conform to this societal value. Women in the 19th century were a commodity. When she got married, her inheritance automatically shifted to the man she tied the knot with. They were discriminated even though they worked as hard as men. 80% of women in the 19th century were involved in the economic activity through various occupations (Fortin, p. 6). They worked in the farms and also carried out their daily household responsibilities.

The discrimination against women was also eminent in the various classes. The wealthy women looked down upon the poor ones. The identification of a woman's status was very simple. The rich women did not perform the menial jobs like the poor women. Moreover, the poor women were identified with their clothing. Their attire was simple unlike the attire of the well to do women who wore beautifully designed elaborate dresses. They had very few dresses. Most of them possessed just three dresses in total. They wore a single dress on a day to day basis and kept the other for the social occasions and the church.

The story of Mrs. Mallard

Mrs. Mallard is a clear contrast to the women in the 19th century. Although she lived the same life as the life of the 19th century women, on the inside, she was rebellious and disapproved of the needless restrictions posed on women. The story centers around ...