Kate Chopin Women's Rights Essay

Traditionally, women have always appeared to be the less dominant sex; subjected to roles such as nurturers and bearers of children and the ever popular, housewives. Sadly, although Kate Chopin wrote “The Story of an Hour” during a time when women’s rights were almost nonexistent, not much has changed. Still, there are significant similarities in the roles of married women in the 1900’s compared to roles of married women in this century. In “The Story of an Hour”, Chopin takes the opportunity to subtly create a powerful statement regarding humanity and women’s rights. Through her crafty and meticulous usage of symbolism and irony, Chopin sheds light on how a woman’s role in marriage is relatable to a life of servitude as opposed to a loving relationship. “I, ___, take thee, __, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…” (Searl,1)
Unfortunately, Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” suggest love was not the predominant reason for the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Mallord. The first thing to remember, marriage in the early 1900’s was comparable to a master and slave relationship. According to society, it was the responsibility of the women to maintain the household, tend to the children, as well as any other “womanly” tasks. For this reason, for several women marriages became their prisons and their husbands, their chains; with the only means of being released from those prisons and chains being the demise of their