Feminine Dependency

In today’s society, women are seen to be totally be dependent on men under any circumstances. For the survival of a woman, a man must be present in her life, even if he is not necessarily keeping her content. In Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin creates a barrier for women in heterosexual relationships to the point where they cannot live nor think for themselves. Women are portrayed in society as weak inferior counterparts to dominant male authorities. Women feel confined in relationships whether they are happy or not. Society asserts that men are the dominate source of happiness that drives women. Women tend to be seen on a lower level of strength than a male. Women slowly die inside if there is an absence of a male figure involved in their lives. This is shown throughout the beginning and even some of the middle of the story when it is told that Louise has a heart condition. This is already pointing out the fact that she is becoming ill because her husband is not around. As the story continues, Louise runs up to her room in tears without letting anyone enter, feeling extremely desperate over the thought of losing her husband. This shows how she is becoming lost without him and losing her strength to stay alive without him. Pascoe expresses this trait of helplessness in Making Masculinity when she says, “The girlfriends also signal a relationship between femininity and helplessness, since they are unable to save themselves.” Women are the weaker sex and when there is an absence of a male figure in their lives, they are only greater weakened. Women feel as though they cannot go or do anything while their significant other is around and so when they do get a bit of freedom, they get a sense of hope for a better life. Yet women hold themselves back from attaining true happiness because they hide in the shadows of their men. Louise sits in her room and looks out her window as though she is in search for a better life where he can actually live to her full