Gender roles and Marriage - Essay Example

? Gender roles and Marriage Leah Renee Moore ENG 125 Kim Elliott-White February 13, A gender role is usually decided by the society specifically within families. For instance, in the nineteenth century women were confined essentially to the household chores and the society as well as the household was dominated by the patriarchal structure. As time progressed the gender roles altered and the relationships and roles within the families were no longer confined to gender roles. While sex refers to the biological classification into male and female categories, gender indicates social classification of the masculine and feminine attributes. On the other hand identity depends on ones self realization about his or her sexual category. In the paper two stories have been taken up for study – ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber and ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin. In the former work, Mr. Mitty tries to build his masculine identity through his regular daydreams and in the second work, Mrs. Mallard tries to gain freedom from the repressive bond of marriage and a kind of sexual freedom is experienced after she hears the news of her husband’s death. In fact both these characters of opposite gender tries to gain freedom in their own ways. Mr. Walter Mitty attempts to gain freedom from the influence of his dominating wife who apparently always has the last word. The institution of marriage can be repressive owing to the influence of gender roles. ‘The Story of An Hour’ by the American writer Kate Chopin talks about the central character Mrs. Mallard’s reaction and mental transformation on hearing the news of her husband’s death and the mix of emotions experienced by the frail woman. Widowhood does cause some sorrow but within minutes it brings forth a new opportunity and light to the journey of life (GRIN Verlag, 2010, p.3). The transformation in thoughts and a feeling of some kind of freedom gradually replaces the initial feeling of loss. In this case the freedom enjoyed within shows how repressive the marriage could be. This is not really written to criticize the character of Mr. Mallard as a repressive husband but through the reactions of his wife, it mocks this supposedly happy union. The open window, the comfortable chair, ‘delicious breath of rain’ and the tops of the trees that were ‘all aquiver with the new spring life’, all indicate an underlying feeling of regeneration or rebirth and a mind which is open to the change and the new life that will belong solely to her. The open window through which she stares at the sky represents a glance at life through the eye of freedom. Mrs. Mallard was ‘young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength’; this description has been used as a tool to highlight the change that was taking place within. She was gaining her strength from the expectation of a new life approaching her. These new oncoming years have been portrayed like “creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air”. (Chopin, 1894) Chopin’s story bears significance to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman where the wife finally protests against her husband who does not want her to write and always asks her to rest and sleep like a sick woman. Gilman finally breaks free of her husband’s control and tears off the wallpaper while Mrs. Mallard waits for a way out. The reason behind their desire for freedom is also different in each case. This was a time when the Women’s Suffrage Movement has just begun and several issues such as the domination and subjugation of a married woman was brought into consideration. A woman was considered as the property of her husband including her life and decisions. The spring of awareness was just born around the time this story was written (late nineteenth century) and hence Mrs. Mallard is kind of relieved that she would not have to face the domination of her husband henceforth. Again, there are sexual overtones in the story that cannot be overlooked. The initial ‘storm of grief’ is almost indicative of a sexual urge or release, which goes hand in hand with the term ‘wild abandonment’. The quivering of the trees is analogous with the thighs that aquiver with sexual anticipation. The term ‘haunted’ signifies that she was craving for it from within and therefore this freedom meant physical or sexual freedom as well (Eggins, 2004, p.39) She also prays that her life may be long. This shows the immense joy experienced. The expression in her eye has also changed from a dull glare to a look of ‘feverish triumph’. As she came down the stairs into the living room, being supported by her sister, Mr. Mallard enters and she expires upon seeing him. The reader remembers that she was a patient of heart disease and her sister feared she might not be able to bear the death of her husband. Ironically she perhaps could not bear the news of her husband staying alive and returning after she was almost prepared to enjoy her freedom. Again another irony is that the doctor claims her death was from a joy at her husband’s sight. The doctor diagnosed the most expected and socially accepted prediction but the reality was far from the understanding. The author repeatedly uses symbols, both within the room and outside, to make the readers gain an insight into the social hypocrisy that needs to be maintained within the institution of marriage that suppresses ones true desires and despite the share and care, the hidden desires come out only when one is single again. The satirical eye therefore views marriage as a social institution that curbs independence, especially in a woman’s life. The second story about the secret life of Mr. Mitty can be well understood if it is studied in comparison with Rip Van Winkle who escapes his nagging wife by sleeping and dreaming on the mountains for twenty years after which he finds himself back into a world unfamiliar (Walker, 1988, p.190). Mitty also seeks solace into frequent daydreams each of which are connected to the objects and anecdotes around him. For instance he finds himself in the courtroom in his dream as soon as he hears a boy shouting about the Waterbury trial. In the courtroom he is the accused with the ability to handle any complicated weapon. He manages to dominate the District Attorney and even encounters a lovely dark haired woman who falls in his arm. Here a touch of masculine supremacy is revealed and also the woman falling in his arm denotes satisfies his male ego, which is constantly in trouble under his wife’s dominance and instructions. One might recall P’u’s love stories where he creates a world of fantasy mainly for a man to find his dream love and in particular, his dream woman in their fantasy world instead of their marriage since marriages were traditionally devoid of love and romance the fulfillment of which had to be met through fantasy (Chang and Chang, 1998, p.92). Apparently Mitty’s life is devoid of love from his wife and he himself, like Rip van Winkle seems to have a child in him which tries to constantly fly into his unique world of dreams only to be brought back to reality the moment he remembers his wife’s instructions. For instance, he dreams about himself as a warplane captain as soon as his eyes land upon a newspiece about the German bombing. He is awakened form his dream by his wife shoving at his shoulder and asking him where he was. He brought all the goods his wife had ordered for to the hotel room. He protests that he has been thinking – “does it even occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?” to which his wife replies, saying that she would be taking his temperature after reaching home (Thurber, 2008, p.22). This is similar to the way a mother treats her child and it could be this mothering attitude, which compels him to look for a retreat. This indicates clearly that his wife has barely any respect for him and this further instigates him to imagine himself as “Undefeated, inscrutable to the last”. Also in his real life there is no evidence of smoking but in his daydream he does smoke. This could be perhaps another restraint his wife places on him and from which he seeks release in his dream. The character of Mitty resembles many of the real characters of men in practice and according to Thurber’s narration to a librarian six men across the nation (including a dentist from Des Moines) asked him how he came to know them so well (Fensch, 2001, p. 206). Some scholars have in fact found similarities between the life of Thurber and Mitty. Mitty has been represented as the modern man who wants some recluse to run away from the daily disturbances and obligations. Mitty wins over his “sense of inadequacy and a nagging wife….refuge from the pressure and doldrums of middle-class existence by escaping into the world of the imagination” (Fensch, 2001, p. 203). Though he is engrossed in the trivial duties of life like puppy biscuits, overshoes, etc, at the orders of his wife, in his fantasy world he is the superman capable of achieving the impossible as a navy captain, surgeon, assassin and even when he faces the fire squad (Fensch, 2001, p. 204). He therefore represents most effectively the most modern man of the century. In the two stories, both the characters of Mrs. Mallard and Mr. Mitty are dominated and repressed. In the case of the former, the repression is not vividly expressed in the story and what the readers come to know about the marital repressions is from the reactions of Mrs. Mallard. In the other case, the readers get to learn both about the behavior of Mrs. Mitty towards her husband and also the latter’s daydreams which might be presumed as the reactions or outlet to his repressive life under the dominion of his wife. What Mrs. Mallard experiences in the story is more of a sexual freedom while Mr. Mitty within himself longed for psychological strength or satisfaction of his ego. For Mrs. Mallard to enjoy the freedom, her husband’s absolute absence in her life is essential. Mr. Mitty has perhaps found an easier way out, that is, by remaining engrossed in his own world. However his dreams are connected with some or the other incident or object of his life associated with his wife. The elaborations of the psychic status of Mr. Mitty is more a case of psychoanalysis where the man finds him entirely lost in his imagination and in his dreams even the known face of his wife looks unfamiliar. This also signifies that he perhaps wants to stay away from her. The idea behind the characters’ experiences in both the stories lie in the fact that human mind seeks for happiness which they try to find seizing every other opportunity in life. This becomes especially true when the reality behind the gender relations in a marriage comes to the surface. Mrs. Mallard dwells in the inner happiness and satisfaction when her husband’s death news arrives and both the characters in discussion jumps out of their happy status when reality interferes their world of happiness. While Mrs. Mallard’s time with herself is interfered when she sees her husband before her eyes, Mr. Mitty goes through constant interference (from her wife mostly) of reality into his dreams but he soon finds the next opportunity to begin another dream. Mrs. Mallard’s dream is shattered once and for all as she dies with grief and not with joy as the doctor suggests. The basic difference between the characters is their gender and the time period to which they belong. It would be difficult and almost rare to find an example of Mr. Mitty in Mrs. Mallard’s time and vice versa perhaps. She belongs to a time when the patriarchal framework of the society decided the rules and norms to be followed by the woman who dared not express her desires if they went against her husband’s interest. What Mrs. Mallard requires was sexual release, which her marriage has restrained, and Mr. Mitty needs some respect for his independent thoughts. Apparently he is not allowed to think and his wife does the thinking and guides his life instead. Whether the intention of Mrs. Mitty is in his interest or not is a different question to be explored but Mr. Mitty is apparently suffocated within the psychological chains tied by his wife. Both Mrs. Mallard and Mr. Mitty represent real characters of different time periods. People like Susan B. Anthony and Abigail Adams have come forward with this issue of women’s domination during the suffrage movement, which later led to the feminists’ campaigns (Durrett, 2005, pp. 25-27). Both the stories talk about repressions of married life where either one of the partners have been under strong repressions and a loveless dominating counterpart. Mrs. Mallard shows the urge to live by herself and meet her personal needs. The story reveals Kate Chopin’s voice against patriarchy (GRIN Verlag, 2010). In fact the open window, which signifies the door out of the prison, now calls her to express her actual emotions and she is filled with positive notes of enthusiasm for life. All the positive developments vanish shortly as she sees her husband alive. This story therefore questions the convention and conservative gender roles of the society in the nineteenth century (Bendixen and Nagel, 206). The gender roles as defined by the society of Mrs. Mallard’s times confined the women under male domination while in case of Mrs. Mitty, the modern man, the wife orders the husband around and gives him every reason to move away into his own world like the classic dreamer, Rip van Winkle. Both stories highlight the truth behind gender relations in marriages and the way an individual might try to establish his or her identity against these redefined roles of the society. References 1. Bendixen, A. & J. Nagel (2010), A Companion to the American Short Story, John Wiley & Sons. 2. Chopin, K. (1894), The story of an hour, Retrieved on February 13, 2011 from: Journey into Literature 3. Durrett, D. (2005), Right to Vote, Infobase publishing. 4. Eggins, S. (2004), An Introduction to systemic Functional Linguistics, Continuum Internaitonal Publishing Group. 5. Fensch, T. (2001), The Man who was Walter Mitty, New Century Books 6. Thurber, J. (2008) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Journey into Literature. 7. Chang, C. & S.H. Chang, (1998), Redefining History, University of Michigan Press. 8. GRIN Verlag, “The Story of an Hour” - Kate Chopin's Voice Against Patriarchy, GRIN, 2010. 9. Walker, N.A. (1988), A Very Serous Thing, U of Minnesota Press 10. Chopin, Kate, “The Story of an Hour”, 1894, retrieved on February 29 2008 from: http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/library/storyofanhour.html Read More