Gender Roles in the Story of an Hour and The Necklace - Essay Example

?Comparion of Themes: Gender Roles in the Story of an Hour and The Necklace. Gender roles that are highly restrictive forbid women from living as they desire. Until the mid 20 century, being a woman automatically meant being a housewife. Women were oppressed and considered half-human. Instead of enjoying the freedom that men had, they were expected to stay at home full time, do housework, and take care of their children, husband and the homestead. They were never expected to work and this kept them in a state of total dependence on men. In many cases, the choice for marriage was dictated by social and economic status and the lack of status and financial power forced many women to stick to loveless marriages or marry men who were not their choices. The two short stories, The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and The Necklace by Guy de Mauppassant give a picture of the oppressive 19th century society in which the happiness of many women was stolen by restrictive gender roles. Similarities The representation of themes like gender roles has always been a difficult thing and a controversial issue. In their efforts to bring it out more clearly, different authors have used different narratives, styles and even different contexts. However, much can be revealed and learnt from unhappy marriages when exploring the roles of males and females in marriage and the society. The two short stories, Story of an Hour and The Necklace the context of marriage in exploring the theme. They both focus on women who are in marriages they are not happy in. Each one of them is married to a husband who is caring and provides for the family. Although there are no forms of physical abuses in the two stories, the narrators bring out the desire for freedom that is dominant in the hearts of the two women who are main characters and center of focus in the stories. The main reason behind this state of unsatisfaction and continual unhappiness among the two women is gender roles that are oppressive to women. Apparently, the two women lived in societies where women were not supposed to obtain formal employment and thus their place was to stay at home and take care of home affairs. The two authors make it clear that the highly regarded issue of gender roles subjected women to unending domesticity. These women did not like it this way and need for freedom was powerful even to override the need for a husband who is loving and caring nor allow them to appreciate having responsible husbands. This is clearly seen in the story The Story of an Hour where Mrs. Mallard mourns shortly the death of her husband but the scenario quickly changes into feelings of relive and celebration of the newfound freedom. In a normal situation, such an event was expected to have turned her life dimmer and mark the start of a lonely life. Everyone would also expect that she mourns for a long period. However, Louise, who is Mrs. Mallard reacts contrarily. Later, it turns out that the man who had died was not her husband. Mr. Mallard finally comes back home and instead of rejoicing and celebrating, Louise instantly dies. Although she had been having a heart problem, there are high chances that the she died from the sudden realisation that the freedom she had found would be lost. Jamil (217) suggests that this could therefore have aggravated her heart condition, something that the news of the death of her husband did not bring about. This shows that her desire for freedom surpassed the love for her husband and the loss of this freedom was more traumatising then losing a husband and a breadwinner. This was against the norms of the 19th century society where women were supposed to show the highest possible respect and love to their husbands. They were to dedicate all their lives serving hem and caring for their needs. The same situation applies to Mathilde in the story the Necklace. In the story, it is evident that Mathilde is constantly unhappy despite being married to a clerk who does all that he could to make her happy. Mathilde does not seem to recognise all these, instead, she locks herself in her thoughts, fantasising the kind of life she wants and believes she deserves. Mathilde does not have a means of attaining this type of life for herself because she is a house wife and therefore depended on the income of her husband. Unfortunately, her husband earned little as a clerk and this could not allow them to purchase the nice clothing and jewels she wanted (Albert et al, 2008). It therefore comes out clearly that Mathilde’s desire for a better live surpassed the need to appreciate having a loving and responsible husband. However, this could not have been the situation if not for domesticity of women that arises from strict gender roles. Contrary to the domesticity of women and their dependent situations, the two stories portray men as providers. The husbands of the two women worked so that they could fully support their families. The husband of Louise had obtained an employment far away and thus he came home once in a while. The husband of Mathilde is a clerk and they depend on his salary for survival. None of the two women was seen seeking for any employment. Instead, they were full time home keepers. This means that the issue of home management was mainly a role for women and providing for the family was a role for men. The two authors reveal that strict adherence to gender roles brought mental or psychological repression to women as evidenced by Louises silent celebration of the death of her husband. The men have been portrayed as being self-assured, dominant and unquestionable. For instance, Mathilde’s husband quickly rejoices over the invitation to the ministerial party and does not want his wife to miss it in any way. The women on the other hand have been portrayed as being dependent and being led by feelings developed from the actions of their husbands. In story the necklace, Madame Forestier, Mathilde’s friend got married to a wealthy person and because he was able to buy her expensive clothes and variety of jewels, she was always happy. The opposite applies to Mathilde who is always unhappy because her husband cannot afford these and thus she does not seem to appreciate him (Roberts, 1991). In both stories, gender roles are stereotypical. Both women are portrayed as being helpless in helping herself out of her situation and therefore, they survive fully by what their husbands earn and do as they instruct. These women have to follow rules even those that affect them negatively socially, financially and mentally yet they do not present any harm physically harm if one was to break them. Differences The author of the Necklace explores the theme of gender roles from an ironic tone (Clugston 2010). The author does not seem to sympathise with women. Instead, he uses the same theme to show women that it is they who have allowed restrictive gender roles to deny them the chance to live as they wish. Madame Forestier for example was not married to a very rich man. Instead of focusing on the expansive jewels she could not afford. Instead, she bought fake jewels to cover this and allow her to mix freely with high class women. Such a view therefore mocks the constant state of helplessness of other middle class women like Mathilde. Mathilde never obtained any employment right from when she was married. However, a contrast is seen when it came to paying for the lost necklace. Mathilde had to get a job to help her husband repay the money borrowed to buy the diamond necklace given out as a replacement to the one she lost. Mathilde helpless situation could therefore have been prevented if she wanted it. For example, she could have gotten herself a job or do some business just to ensure she can afford the luxuries and adornments that could not be accommodated within the budge of her husband’s salary. Alternatively, she could have bought fake jewels like those of Madame Forestier. Men were not very strict on the issue of women being full time home keepers. Women could therefore be allowed to work if only they made their husband see the need for it. Mathilde was allowed to obtain an employment to help pay the jewel loan yet she could have been doing this to upgrade their economic status. Her hardship at the end, and realisation that she had toiled to near-death for a fake but nice jewel is therefore an expression of the author’s ironic tone over the issue. According to Leary (1970), Chopin assumes a liberationist role when exploring this theme. She adopts a third person narrative style for the story and manages to air out her views of the oppressive society and the need to relieve women of strict gender roles. By portraying Mrs. Mallard as having died because of the return of her husband, Chopin has successfully communicated the weight and value of freedom and respect for one’s rights carriers. It is just as important as breathe of live its loss is a symbol of lifelessness. If Chopin had actively campaigned against this or used dialogues, maybe few people would have bought her ideas. However, she used the persona of Mrs. Mallard to express her opinion and thus influence response to this work. Clugston (2010) explains that the author of the Story of the Hour presents a situation in which the use of persona can influence the response to a literature. Toth (1999) states that by personifying her character, she managed to criticise institutions like marriage that hinder the rights of women through restrictive gender roles. Conclusion The stories The Story of an Hour and The Necklace clearly bring out the roles of males and females. Their authors have explored the theme of gender roles using similar contexts and from similar perspectives. The authors have successfully explored the manifestations of gender roles by outlining the responsibilities expected of each gender in the society especially in their marriage. The authors also explored the deeper effects of such roles. For example, the type of personalities created by this issue. They have portrayed men as being confident, dominant and unquestionable while the females are silent, dependent and wait to take instructions from their husbands. This is because women are subjected to mental repression and physical restrictions like movement and employment whereas the men are free to do things and live as they please. In addition, the authors have also brought out the adverse effects of having strict gender roles the economic status of the family and marital relationship. Restrictive gender roles result to poverty and lack of love from women to their husbands. It also destroys the desire and need for marriage as women seek for freedom from strict marriages. Despite their differences in tone, the two stories makes it clear that gender roles that are highly restrictive forbid women from living as they desire. References Albert, M et al (2008). The Necklace’ short story. Online: http://classiclit.about.com/od/necklaceguydemaupassant/a/The-Necklace-Short-Story_2.htm. Online: viewed on 13th December, 2011. Clugston, W. (2010). Journey into Literature. Inc. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education. Jamil, S. (2009). “Emotions in the Story of an Hour.” Explicator. Spring (3) pp 215-220. 2009. Leary, L. (1970). “Kate Chopin, Liberationist?” The Southern Literary Journal. (1) pp 138-144. Toth, E. (1999). Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson. University Press of Mississippi. Roberts, E. (1991). Writing Themes About Literature. London. Prentice Hall Read More