Comparing Repression In The Story Of An Hour And A Rose For Emily
Both main characters in “The Story of an Hour” and “A Rose for Emily” struggle being their own person. During this time, women face limitations in a society that hold them back. Louise Mallard and Emily Grierson share similarities of being under the control of men, the time period, and the idea of repression.
First of all, in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard is a woman who longs to get away from her marriage. In the beginning, Louise finds out that her husband has passed away in a railroad accident, and she finally feels freedom as a result. Her “gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky” (Chopin 278). Looking out into the sky, she sees the hope of a new life. The tragedy was a blessing for her yearn for independence. Following this, in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson is a woman who is desperate for love. Louise has everything Emily wants, a marriage. Emily has always lived …show more content…
under her father’s watch, and no one is good enough to date Emily according to her father. After Mr. Grierson’s death, Emily begins to date Homer Barron, and she wants to marry him because being alone scares her. She eventually obsesses and kills Homer so he will not leave her. The limitations of the women drive them insane.
Along with the characteristics, the setting of both stories is set in a male dominant society of the early 1900’s. At this time, women are “property” of men in their life, and it is wrong for them to be free. For Louise, it is her husband who dominates her choices. Louise’s happiness shows when she realizes her husband is dead because she will not have anyone to listen to. The time period affects Emily’s life by no man being good enough according to her father’s standards. When she does find someone, she eventually kills them so she will not be alone. The setting of the stories hold both women back on their actions.
Additionally, both women in the stories struggle with being their self because of the idea of repression.
Louise feels repression from her husband, and Emily feels it by her father’s standards. “There would be no powerful will bending [Louise’s] in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin 279). Louise is in an era where her husband has trapped her. She does not want to be obligated to live for someone else. The townspeople recall “all the young men [Emily’s] father had driven away” (Faulkner 302). She listens to her father’s commands, and she does not know what to do when he dies. It keeps her from becoming a married woman. This affects both of the women to make them go insane.
Clearly, "The Story of an Hour" and "A Rose for Emily” show how two women who are lost in a world created by society. The women share similarities in their characteristics, the setting, and repression. In the end, both men in their lives result in their
death.
First of all, in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard is a woman who longs to get away from her marriage. In the beginning, Louise finds out that her husband has passed away in a railroad accident, and she finally feels freedom as a result. Her “gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky” (Chopin 278). Looking out into the sky, she sees the hope of a new life. The tragedy was a blessing for her yearn for independence. Following this, in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson is a woman who is desperate for love. Louise has everything Emily wants, a marriage. Emily has always lived …show more content…
under her father’s watch, and no one is good enough to date Emily according to her father. After Mr. Grierson’s death, Emily begins to date Homer Barron, and she wants to marry him because being alone scares her. She eventually obsesses and kills Homer so he will not leave her. The limitations of the women drive them insane.
Along with the characteristics, the setting of both stories is set in a male dominant society of the early 1900’s. At this time, women are “property” of men in their life, and it is wrong for them to be free. For Louise, it is her husband who dominates her choices. Louise’s happiness shows when she realizes her husband is dead because she will not have anyone to listen to. The time period affects Emily’s life by no man being good enough according to her father’s standards. When she does find someone, she eventually kills them so she will not be alone. The setting of the stories hold both women back on their actions.
Additionally, both women in the stories struggle with being their self because of the idea of repression.
Louise feels repression from her husband, and Emily feels it by her father’s standards. “There would be no powerful will bending [Louise’s] in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin 279). Louise is in an era where her husband has trapped her. She does not want to be obligated to live for someone else. The townspeople recall “all the young men [Emily’s] father had driven away” (Faulkner 302). She listens to her father’s commands, and she does not know what to do when he dies. It keeps her from becoming a married woman. This affects both of the women to make them go insane.
Clearly, "The Story of an Hour" and "A Rose for Emily” show how two women who are lost in a world created by society. The women share similarities in their characteristics, the setting, and repression. In the end, both men in their lives result in their
death.