Similarities Between The Yellow Wallpaper And The Story Of An Hour

Realism, the Portray of Women Mistreatment
In the 19th century a new trend of writing appeared in the American literature called, realism and it is defined as the “faithful representation of reality”. Writers attempt to document life as it “without romantic idealization or dramatization” and “character is more important than action and plot”. Two short stories are representative of realism “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of An Hour.” In these stories Charlotte Gilman and Kate Chopin characterize women who are being dominated by a manly society and who do not see women more than a simply spouses or mothers. However, they are faithful believers that women in reality are beings that should be allowed to express themselves because they
Throughout the story of “The Yellow Wallpaper” her husband John treats the protagonist with a lot of authority and demand. “John says if I don 't pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall… But John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. (Gilman, 86-90.). And this overwhelming treatment carried the poor woman to a deep insanity, making her hallucinate about the paper design of her room. “It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw—not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things…Through watching so much at night, when it changes so, I have finally found out. The front pattern does move—and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.” (Gilman, 95, 96.). The husband’s controlling attitude and low ignorance against her destroyed this woman mental stability. At the same time in “The Story of An Hour,” Mrs. Mallard thought that the death of Mr. Mallard would be the opportunity for her to get out from an oppressed marriage that didn’t let her live the life that she ever dreamed. For the first time in her life, she could visualize herself without the control and pressure that her marriage gave her. “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully… But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.” (Chopin, 66-67.). In these two stories we can see the great desire of these women to be treated with respect; a sense of dignity for what they are, something that would make them feel like their voice counted rather than having a meaning to their life because of who they’re married