Freedom and emancipation of women - Essay Example

On the other hand, men were more flexible and could look for work and live away from homes, while still expecting to have their wives take care of their children at home. In Kate Chopin story “the story of an hour”, women are depicted as being oppressed, but repressing their feeling despite their desire for freedom. The theme of oppression of women in the society is best captured in the story of an hour where Mrs. Mallard; the main author who is depicted as having a heart trouble. This is the reason why the death of her husband is brought with gentleness (Chopin 788).

This is a disease that Chopin refers to be the one of the causes of trouble facing Mrs. Ballard. In the story, the heart disease is a symbol of the pain that Chopin has to contend with, one that makes her sick and remain at home, while her husband goes to work. The interpretation of the heart diseases ties with the notion that women’s places was home and not in the industry, which was considered as a playing field for men only. This was a belief that men held during the nineteenth century, at a time when women were trying to liberate themselves from chains of having to take roles as wives at home.

But as indicated in the story, the struggles of women like Mrs. Mallard bore no success as she succumbed to death because of her heart trouble. Mrs. Mallard is depicted as a young woman in the story and yet all she could do was stay at home, while the husband went to work to fend for the family. Chopin’s portrays Mrs. Mallard as a young woman who has a fair and calm face. These descriptions indicate the status of women in the society being that most of them had the potential to take over roles in the industries and other domains (Stein 54).

Needless to say, the theme of oppressions seems to be overstretched on women like Mr. Mallard who have to wait at home for the husband to come home. In addition, it is clear to point that men made women hold gender roles at home advancing the theme of oppression. In what seems as a twist, Mr. Mallard later becomes happy because the death of her husband meant his freedom. In the story, Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard as having a dull stare, one that illustrates the kind of life she has gone through.

The dull eyes present readers with the feeling of women have having been stagnated and withdrawn in the quest for freedom. This notion is true considering the fact that women during the 19th century continued to hold a role at home with none having the chance to take part in other facets of life. In the story, it is apparent that Mrs. Mallard is less independent in her marriage, which indicates the oppression that women were going through in their society. To a great extent, it can be argued that married women like Mrs.

Mallard were less independent because of their allegiance to the will of their husbands. Historically, the women’s quest from freedom in the nineteenth century reflected the difficulty of women making significant breakthroughs in a society where men were parochial. In another perspective, the dull stare reveal the routine that characterized the lives of women being that many of them stayed at home. This signifies a form of oppression that made women restricted to their homes rather than joint the social and economic life experienced by their male counterparts.

To some degree, Chopin reveal that women despite being oppressed remained tied to their husbands to the chain of oppression tha