Role of a Woman in Stories by Kate Chopin - Research Paper Example

number and Paper The Role of a Woman in “The Necklace” and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin can be considered as masterpieces, each telling a typical for those times a story of a woman who is given little freedom and little chances to change her condition in a society where gender and socio-economic status of people were the decisive factors determining the life and opportunities that are to be given to one. In both women are the main characters around which the events of the stories develop as well as both stories reveal the theme of the limitedness of women roles in the society that ultimately leads to the destruction of relationships within marriage and character’s personalities, who are not willing to accept what they have. Mathilde Loisel and Louise Mallard represent two characters that appear in similar conditions of dependence and inability to take control over their lives, although each in its specific way. Mathilde Loisel is miserable due to being stuck in a middle class, but being confident that she is worth more. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all luxuries.” (de Maupassant ) This feeling of disappointment took all her thoughts and aspirations and she could not think of anything but that of being rich and know that other people envy her. “She thought of the long salons; of men - famous and sought after, whom all women envy and whose attention they all desire.” (de Maupassant ) However, in the reality, she could not expect that a man from the higher social class would marry her and, obviously, could not expect to improve her social status by personal efforts. Therefore, she became the wife of clerk and continued feeling pity for her destiny. In general, her condition can be best characterized as being unhappy as a result of being stuck in a middle class. At the same time, Louise Mallard from “The Story of an Hour” also feels stuck and lives in restricted conditions, however, not due to her social status but due to the very fact of being married. For Louise, marriage became all her space in which she can function while the opportunities for being active outside of marriage are absent. Subsequently, she is oppressed by marriage that granted her limited set of roles and possibilities. “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression.” (Chopin ) Therefore, the author explicitly explains that conditions in which Louise lives are not perceived as beneficial by the main character. Similarly to Mathilde, Louise is deprived of the possibility to take control of her life or to influence it in a way that could make her more satisfied with what she has and does. Consequently, both the “Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin tell the story of women who face their own internal conflicts arising from the inner inability to accept the destiny that was prepared for them due to the fact that they are female and belong to a particular social class. Furthermore, as the events of plots develop, one may notice another similar trait of both stories – the irony that follows denouement and reinforces the theme. Namely, in “The Necklace” readers learn that the lost necklace, which became the cause of misery of Mathilde and her husband, was a fake “worth at most five hundred francs” while they had been working to pay for it for ten years. (de Maupassant ) The following should come as a surprise for a reader, who thought that the years of poverty and hardships that a couple has been facing were a kind of redemption for Mathidle’s arrogance and selfishness that ultimately led to the loss of the borrowed necklace. However, the ending dispels that image and exposes the reality – Mathilde and her husband paid the price of being not honest with Madame Forestier. Therefore, in the attempt to appear better than she is, Mathilde, in fact, lost her only asset – her genuine beauty. (Fusco 199) “She had become the woman of impoverished households; frowsy hair, skirts askew she talked loud while washing the floor” while at the ball “She was prettier than them all, elegant, gracious; All the men looked at her.” (de Maupassant ) Therefore, it becomes clear that Mathilde’s feeling of being cheated by the life that made her a wife of a clerk instead of granting her wealth and recognition recurs in that final irony which exposes futility of Mathilde’s life, who has been fulfilling the only role giving to her – the role of a wife. In “The story of an Hour” the irony also plays a decisive role in the text, explaining the real feelings of Louise as she learns about the death of her husband. At the beginning of the story it is hinted that Louise will not be able to accept the death of her husband. “Great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbands death.” (Chopin ) Indeed, she “wept at once” and “sob came up into her throat and shook her”. (Chopin) Further, a reader learns in details about her current thoughts, but it is not yet clear what she feels whereas the last sentence of the story “she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills” makes the meaning of the story clear. (Chopin) In contrast to the expectation that Louise could die after learning about her husband’s death, it is now clear that the woman perceived the event as a chance to become finally free. In this context, it is exciting the way Chopin used of imagery and symbolism in order to reinforcing the changing condition of the Louise. For instance, she remains in a house in which she has been living with her husband, but now she observes “open square” and “tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life”. (Chopin) She is now facing the open window, which hints on freedom and the possibility to open new horizons, and sits in a “a comfortable, roomy armchair” symbolizing that the new condition in which she appeared is quite convenient and satisfactory for the woman. (Chopin) Consequently, through the application of irony and imagery used in describing the setting it is obvious that “the violent force in the story is not a train but gendered social expectations” that made women oppressed and subdued, and did not allow much opportunities for them to control their lives. (Harrington 81) For instance, both, Louise’s repression, the newly arose feelings of freedom, and the subsequent death – all depend on her husband. This is how the rest of her life depended on her husband as well. Consequently, the theme of the restricted position of a woman in the society is exposed. To sum up, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin reveal the theme of the oppressive condition of women in the gendered society that allowed no freedom for women to exercise the range of possibilities similar to men and was the reason for their misery. The main characters of the stories can serve as examples of the way women’s roles were surrounded around marriage and their husband’s social status while they had no chances to function as meaningful members of the society outside it. Although in their own specific ways, Mathilde and Louise found themselves miserable, but could not make their lives they one they would like to. As a result, the well-being of Mathilde Loisel and the life of Louise Mallard were destructed. . Works cited Chopin, Kate. ""The Story of An Hour" ." n. page. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. . De Maupassant, Guy. "The Necklace ." n. page. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. . Fusco, Richard. Maupassant and the American Short Story: The Influence of Form at the Turn of the Century. Penn State Press, 2010. 199. Print. Read More