Comparing A & P, By John Updike And Kate Chopin

Once-born and Twice-born mindsets are two of the most prevalent in society. According to Elizabeth Lesser, "Once-born people do not stray from the familiar territory of whom they think they are and what they think is expected of them. Twice-born people go into unfamiliar territory and make mistakes or use adversity to make inner changes in order to live a more genuine and radiant life." John Updike and Kate Chopin both have stories with Once and Twice-born characters. In John Updike's story, "A&P", we see Lengel who is Once-born and Sammy who starts off with a Once-born mindset and later gains a Twice-born mindset. In Kate Chopin's, "The Story of an Hour", we see Mrs. Mallory who is also Once-born and later is Twice-born. "A&P" and "The Story
Lengel portrays the Once-born mindset throughout the whole story, unlike Sammy who eventually becomes Twice-born. “'We want you decently dressed when you come in here' 'we are decent'” (319). After Lengel sees the girls in bathing suits, he shames them and gives the girls a “sad Sunday-school-superintendent stare.” (319) Although Updike never directly mentions it, he implies that Lengel is religious. According to Updike, “Lengel… teaches Sunday school” (318), Sunday school is usually centered on teaching religion. Assuming Lengel is a religion teacher, he sees the girls in bathing suits and states that they are dressed indecent because of his beliefs, making him Once-born for not being able to stray away from what he believes is right. On the other hand, Sammy is once Once-born, but gradually transitions into a Twice-born character. When the girls first walk into the A&P store, Sammy has judgemental thoughts regarding the girls appearances such as: “She was a chunky kid”, “one of those chubby berry-faces”, “a chin that was too long—you know, the kind other girls think is very “striking” and “attractive” but never quite makes
Mallard serves as an example of being both Once-born and Twice-born. After Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husbands death, she feels lonely, "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment" (7). At first she felt sad about her husband's death, but after grieving she begins to realize that she is now a free woman, she no longer has to abide by her husband's wishes; It is important to note that the story takes place in the nineteenth century, when women's rights were non-existent. When Mrs. Mallard becomes Twice-born, she begins to feel free, "she saw beyond that bitter moment as a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened her arms out to them in welcome. There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself" (8), Mrs. Mallory began to see a positive outcome to her husband's death, she would no longer have to live to please him, she could now live how she wished because her husband wasn’t around any longer. While Mrs. Mallory's sister, Josephine, was worried about the way Mrs. Mallory was taking the news of her husbands death because of her heart condition, Mrs. Mallory was apparently "drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window." (8) It appears as if this is the happiest moment in Mrs. Mallory's life, "Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she