Short Stories Reflecting Issues in Marriage - Essay Example

 Short Stories Reflecting Issues in Marriage Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour (year published, page #) and Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace (year published, Page #)are short stories written in almost the same era when women were not as liberal as the modern ones, whether single or married. The two stories narrate and probably reflect the cries of the women during the authors’ period, where although well treated and greatly admired by their husbands, still craved for things other women enjoy or to Chopin’s main character, what men had at their disposal, the freedom to do whatever they wish. The struggles of the women still present significance in this modern age where similar problems are wrapped differently, making the computer-age woman survive in a highly demanding society by living a simple life rather than aim for what would cause greater pain than joy. In addition, the stories act as peripheries outlining the boundaries of what ambitious women should indulge in, to avoid disgrace or even death. The two stories speak of their main characters’ dreams and aspirations and vividly describe them as they think about their respective dreams. The main characters are both women, married and facing different dilemmas but somehow are related, considering that their problems are about their desires. To Chopin’s Mrs. Mallard, her dream was the satisfaction of an emotional and psychological need while de Maupassant’s Mrs. Loisel dreamed of physical needs which were quite trivial as compared to that of Mrs. Mallard’s. How the stories were told and how the characters were exposed are interesting angles for readers to consider in looking more deeply in the meanings of the stories. The Story of an Hour is narrated by a third person, picturing the life of a woman married to a man who was not mentioned to have abused her in any way, rather treated their marriage life as dictated by norms. Women during the time of the setting were known to be housekeepers, left to attend to children and the household chores. To Mrs. Mallard, the task of staying home was an imposing feature of the male in the house and society; making her feel like a prisoner. This statement is supported by the words of the woman saying “Free, free free” and in addition, kept whispering, “Free! Body and soul, free!” This shows that Mrs. Mallard had a longing for freedom which the expectations of people from wives, have silenced during the time of her marriage with her supposed dead husband. The Necklace on the other hand, narrates the story on the third person also, of a woman who longed for what the elite French represented. Being beautiful, Madame Loisel, the main character in the story dreamed for things she thought she was worthy to have. Unluckily, she was born in a family of artisans and was married to a clerk who was not able to provide her whims. Her longings, as opposed to that of Mrs. Mallard’s are of the trivial things like good food, expensive clothing and jewelries. Invited to a ball which she always dreamed of attending, she forced her husband to provide for a dress that would suit the occasion and her desires. When presented with the problem of jewelries, the husband suggested her to borrow from her friend which she did. Eventually, they were presented with the conflict to resolve and that is, to replace the borrowed necklace as soon as possible, which got lost when they were going home from the ball. With their little means, the husband had to borrow money to produce the payment of a similar jewelry which caused them to be deeply in debt and made them live through hard work for ten years. The style of de Maupassant in telling his story was quite direct, introducing the character with descriptions that created an image of the woman without letting the reader to need some imaginations in understanding the character. The narrator’s descriptions of the main character explain not only her figure and attitude in his introductory paragraphs but he also described her separately from the events that made up the story. The author even was quite lengthy in his introductions of the main character contrary to Chopin’s short mention of her main character’s health condition. The latter’s story delved immediately to the narration of what was happening and did not dare to elaborate about the character as de Maupassant did. In the middle of the story, it was then that Chopin indulged the readers with what was going on in the mind of the character. Chopin seemed to have hidden some facts about the whole story and used such manner to create suspense, letting them wonder how the story might end and finishing the narrative with a result that was least expected. de Maupassant’s ending of the story on the other hand, was just how one would have expected as he introduced back Mrs. Loisel’s friend from whom she borrowed the lost necklace. The Story of an Hour limited the events of the story that happened in the last hour of the life of the main character while The Necklace extends to what happened to the main character after ten years. The title of the former story limited the events in an hour to make a cleverly composed narration, probably causing difficulties for the author to concentrate in the very few details used in completing the story. The latter by contrast had the leisure of making an extended explanation of the difficulties the characters experienced as a result of a night’s affair. What probably challenged the author in fabricating his narration is how he should limit the information in order for it to still be considered as a short story. With regards the title, The Necklace emphasized its value in the turn of events in the story, causing the once ambitious woman to bend down to enslaving herself for her to be able to pay the prized necklace. The story may center in the woman but the necklace was made as an instrument in changing her. Being an object of desire, the necklace became to her the chain that bound her and her husband to debt for ten years. Both stories used irony to capture the readers’ attention and to make a lasting impression that leads audiences meditating about the facts of life related to the story. Chopin’s character shows this feature first, in an unexpected event where she was brought the message of the death of her husband as he was supposed to have been involved in a railroad accident. However, it turns out in the end of the story that she was the one to be found dead and not her husband. Secondly, the news that her sister, Josephine feared to cause her trouble, being known to have a heart problem, made her glad instead. She became glad not of the news that her husband died in an accident but she was happy for at last, she will be living her own life. This life that she longed to live for a long time, as she thought, was another presentation of the ironies of Mrs. Mallard’s life because unknowingly, her death was fast approaching her with her supposed dead husband coming home. Another expressed irony through the thoughts of the main character was her considerations of a long life which in the story was revealed that “it was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life would be long”. When her husband was living, she feared a long life with him, one that would seem longer with the boredom she felt, being left alone most of the time in the house, with his husband “bending her will” as women were viewed as husbands’ inferiors rather than equals. The Necklace similarly offered ironic events that reveal the character’s attitude. First, Mrs. Loisel is pictured as a manipulative wife, knowing her charm and emotions to get her husband give what she desires. However, it was her insisting nature that drove her to poverty and debt. She had not shown any gratitude in the loving sacrifice of her husband for her to buy the expensive dress she wished to use to the ball but she showed great indebtedness to her friend who simply lent her a necklace. Alana Drusset (2008) considers this ironic because when Mrs. Loisel was given a treasure of her own, no expressed thankfulness or happiness was mentioned however she showed exultant emotions over a borrowed necklace, one that she knew was not her own but was expected to be returned. The tragic irony is that, the very thing that made her night complete, with her feeling so perfectly fit for the occasion; would be the one that will make her miserable for the rest of her life. The bitter irony is that, the Madame’s love for expensive things, proved her naivety about the matter. The necklace that she thought made her look rich, was worth just a few hundred francs, compared to the one Mrs. Loisel returned to her friend which was worth thousands. The necklace in the story was used as a metaphor that represented trivial things people, especially women, usually chase after. This does not represent material things alone but other desires an individual might have, that brings him lower than what has been expected. In this age where a lot of wants and desires are created, more and more people suffer from doing their best to attain them, enslaving themselves to such things. Power, fame and wealth have not changed their lure to people rather in different forms and intensity, when not considered carefully, bring a person to destruction. Chopin also presented the metaphor of using Mrs. Mallard’s view of the open square, the tops of trees, patches of blue sky and the sound of the outside world, the future she was thinking to have after her husband’s burial. The aforementioned objects and sounds spoke of freedom, one a person who was physically, emotionally and psychologically free would notice even in times of great trouble. Metaphor, as shown in the two stories is a powerful tool that authors usually use to convey messages they want readers to think about and relate to everyday life. Indeed, it is a wonderful means of touching the hearts of readers, getting into the emotions and deep thoughts that usually mark a good story. One of the features the stories depict is the use of flashbacks which is also essential in short stories because of the limiting factor their space has. Considering writing in detail events that happened in the past, could make a long narrative but the use of flashbacks allow writers to shorten their stories significantly. In the Story of an Hour, in order for Chopin to stay within the time bound suggested by the title of her story, she found the necessity of using the style, minimizing her words to the recollections of her main character, but extending her timeframe to the past, presenting important factors that affected her train of thoughts. Similarly, The Necklace used the same process to fast forward the events in ten years after the day Mrs. Loisel started her days of paying out her debts. The difficulties were shortly narrated with the thoughts of how her life might have been if that dreadful night did not occur, and connected the start of her hardships to the end of it where she was described to have lost all the beauty and youth she once held. Emotion is one of the important aspects an author has to consider in moving the audience to empathize with their characters and the two stories used this powerful angle to draw their readers’ attention. “Emotion connects the soul to the body”, is one of Jamil’s (2009) line of consideration in analyzing the short story of Chopin as she exemplifies the effect of the news that she received that day to her. First, when she clearly had an understanding of the hints her sister had been telling her, she had a sudden outburst of emotions, crying in the shoulders of her sister. With her emotions spent as she expressed them in the presence of her visitors, she gained strength to go too her room alone and consider the future that she will have without her husband around. Alone and realizing the happiness brought about by the thought of living a life on her own, without one to tell her what she was supposed to do and not do, she rose from a grievous state to a hopeful one. “Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously”, conveys the feelings she had, though new and foreign to her, it expressed the warm welcome she offered to whatever that offered excitement to her new life. The aforementioned line conveys the greatness of her emotions which in turn caused her body to react, a generally true observation as emotions affect and influence physical expressions. For instance, happiness brings a smile on one’s face, sorrow causes one to look sad and anger makes a person to either be violent or simply widen one’s eyes pucker his lips. The stories ended with a twist which makes readers just think how wonderfully constructed they have been. One should not fail to wonder at the talent and skill of the two authors of displaying their characters and the events of the stories in a simple yet ingeniously crafted masterpieces. Probably, what brought the beauty of the stories out are the truths expressed in them as observed by the authors. Looking at the stories, one can look through the eyes of a man and a woman at the same time. The woman author seemed to express the things that her counterparts suffered in the hands of their husbands which most of the time were kept in silence. De Maupassant on the other hand, seemed to express the mind of the men where he revealed how women are seen by their opposite counterparts. Of course, it is not to speak in general, but it is an expression of an observation that such seemed to have influenced the telling of the two stories. Whatever could have been, what is most important is the significance of the stories in one’s life, to make a reader a better person, to emulate the good and not the bad. References Drussset, Alana. 2008. Literary Analysis: The use of symbolism in "The Necklace," by Guy De Maupassant. Helium. Retrieved from: http://www.helium.com/items/921407-literary analysis-the-use-of-symbolism-in-the-necklace-by-guy-de-maupassant Jamil, Selina S. 2009. Emotions in the Story of an Hour. Prince George Community College. Heldref Publications. Retrieved from: http://classfolios.com/learningresource/emotionsinstoryofanhour.pdf Read More