Similarities Between The Yellow Wallpaper And Story Of An Hour

During the period that the two short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Story of an Hour,” were written was a time period in which many females had no freedom and were confined due to male dominance and lack of feminine freedom. The two authors are Charlotte Gilman Perkins who wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Kate Chopin who wrote “Story of an Hour”, they have many similarities that can be compared but also have difference throughout their writings. Within theses two short stories, they both express their growing troubles of feminine freedom and male dominance. The main female characters of both stories express a desire to want to be free from different things that include males being the dominant figure. In the short stories, “The Yellow
In “Story of an Hour,” Chopin explains that a train accident has occurred and the husband was on the train and has died. Consequently, Chopin states “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” (2). This makes it clear that after she finds out that her husband is dead she is extremely excited to finally be free from her husband. Also, “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her” (1). During this part of the story, Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her room so that she can achieve the physical and mental state she desires. It is believed that she wants to be alone so that she can “grieve” by herself but instead of grieving she celebrates finally having freedom and having the ability to do anything that she wants without the fear of her husband getting on to her. Also, Mrs. Mallard does not want to get lost in the crowd of the people downstairs that are actually grieving because then she may feel the need to feel sorry and began to grieve even though she has made it clear that she is not upset. She is glad to finally be free from the male dominance of her
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” it is a mental illness and in “Story of an Hour” it is a heart problem; therefore, both authors display their women characters as fragile because that is how they were seen in society at this time. In “Story of an Hour” Chopin states, "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death” (1). This represents the theme of the male dominance because the male characters in the two stories treat the female characters as if they are fragile and cannot handle certain information and everyday activities. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” they never truly say that she has a mental illness but from the way that she acts and portrays herself, it is evident that she has something wrong with her. It is believed that she was suffering from postpartum depression but at the time this disease was not yet discovered. Jane, the main female character, begins to tear the wallpaper off of the wall near the end of the story, thus breaking down her prison that she is trapped in. This connects with “Story of an Hour” because Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her room to celebrate no longer having to live for her husband but now she can live for herself. Even though both female characters