Unfeminine Nathalie

In the short story, The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is overcome with joy upon hearing the death of her husband, Brently Mallard. She felt free of the burden of being just a wife. She felt that her life was starting over, she could live it according to her, not her husband and societal pressures. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women did not have the virtue to do whatever they please. By law, women could not vote and were the property of their dad or husband. They could not own property, had job limitations and had no rights to their own children. Women were expected to sit still and look pretty, tend to the kids, do housework and most importantly-- support her husband. Mrs. Mallard didn’t want that for herself. She knew her life could be better without being tied to her husband. If any women were to publicly display these emotions, she would be perceived as a heathen, crazy, or
unfeminine, because women having feelings and passions were so unheard of or not allowed. Thankfully, in the 21st Century, most women can do whatever they please, but there are still some skeptics about it. Women are still expected to take care of children and cook dinner each night, but they can get a job, own property and vote. It shouldn’t be like this, but some people are just stuck in their old ways of thinking. Mrs. Mallard is a renegade for her time, standing out against the pack.

Nathalie in The Kiss, also shows another version of women’s oppression and rebelling against it.
Nathalie is a smart young women who knows that she cannot attain love and money in one man, so she sought out two men. One for love and one for money. Back in the time period this story was written, Nathalie would be considered a harlot or a floozy by society, because women’s expectations about infidelity are non-existent. They were expected be married to one man and start a family for the rest of their life. If a woman were not to marry, she would be property of her father’s (and then be called a spinster or old-maid). Nathalie’s actions would be seen as unholy, “slutty”, and wrong to era the story was written. Just as Abigail’s were when news broke of her and John Proctor.. In today’s society, the reaction would be similar. Despite the feminist movement ,women who have many relationships or have casual sex are considered to be promiscuous or easy. The purpose of Chopin writing this was to show that women are not granted the same respect as men, even when they may be acting like
one. Mrs. Mallard and Nathalie are examples of the different types of oppression put on women. Mrs. Mallard represents the restrictions women feel in their marriages, not being able to be free and being owned by their husbands. Nathalie represents the restrictions put on women in terms of their relationships and sexuality. However, both stories do outline the double-standards between men and women. Men are allowed whatever freedom they desire, along with whatever woman they desire married or not. Women are looked at like psychos and heathens just for wanting what men have. Overall, Kate Chopin’s stories are powerful representations of what women felt during the times of oppression in the 19th century, and even how women feel today.