Story of an Hour vs. Yellow Wallpaper
Lacen
English II
22 January 2011
Differently Similar In the short stories “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, are stories about women who suffer from different conditions, but are very similar. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character suffers from an unknown heart condition, and becomes very detached from her husband. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the main character suffers from a psychological condition, and is taken care of by her husband John but slowly grows away from his care. While these women may have very different situations, they are very similar in the way they grow away from their husbands, feeling oppressed by society, and wanting to feel free. The first similarity between the two women is the way they slowly become detached from their husbands. The woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is very fond of her husband’s care and takes notice of it when she says “Dear John! He loves me very dearly and hates to have me sick. (Gilman)” This shows that she can clearly see he cares for her and appreciates what he does for her. Even though she does appreciate his care, she truly believes that there is nothing wrong with her, and there is no need for his extensive supervision. Towards the end of the story she becomes very detached from John when she says “The fact is I am becoming a little afraid of John. (Gilman)” With this quote, she shows that her psychological condition has worsened as feels as if John is trying to hurt her with the rest and treatments he is prescribing. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character immediately feels detached from her husband with “And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! (Chopin)” With this she shows that she does not feel at all connected to her husband an shows no concern with trying to be. While these to women may have grown away from their husbands from different reason, it is still a strong similarity that the share. The two
English II
22 January 2011
Differently Similar In the short stories “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, are stories about women who suffer from different conditions, but are very similar. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character suffers from an unknown heart condition, and becomes very detached from her husband. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the main character suffers from a psychological condition, and is taken care of by her husband John but slowly grows away from his care. While these women may have very different situations, they are very similar in the way they grow away from their husbands, feeling oppressed by society, and wanting to feel free. The first similarity between the two women is the way they slowly become detached from their husbands. The woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is very fond of her husband’s care and takes notice of it when she says “Dear John! He loves me very dearly and hates to have me sick. (Gilman)” This shows that she can clearly see he cares for her and appreciates what he does for her. Even though she does appreciate his care, she truly believes that there is nothing wrong with her, and there is no need for his extensive supervision. Towards the end of the story she becomes very detached from John when she says “The fact is I am becoming a little afraid of John. (Gilman)” With this quote, she shows that her psychological condition has worsened as feels as if John is trying to hurt her with the rest and treatments he is prescribing. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character immediately feels detached from her husband with “And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! (Chopin)” With this she shows that she does not feel at all connected to her husband an shows no concern with trying to be. While these to women may have grown away from their husbands from different reason, it is still a strong similarity that the share. The two