Similarities Between The Yellow Wallpaper And Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s the most well-known work The Awakening and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” both initially published in 1899, present astoundingly analogous stories of the role of women in society. Both texts are narrated from the point of view of a female protagonist who breaks away from the restraining conventions of a male-ruled society before eventually emancipating through separation from the thinking world, via suicide in The Awakening and insanity in “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” Some would argue that the narrators are unreliable and the stories are misrepresented simply because

Despite differing story lines, Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, depict the same suffering; the isolation that women have been forced to endure throughout history. In the time period that all three characters were placed, it was culturally acceptable for wives to be dominated by their husbands; their responsibility revolving around the needs of their children and those of their spouse. Most women simply did not have a means or an idea of how to rebel against their husbands. The women in all three stories are protagonists who have poor relationships of emotional attachment with their spouses. While the main character of Gilman’s story endures multiple psychotic

beginning of time. From early neolithic ages where the cavemen took woman as ownership to

In the short stories “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, are stories about women who suffer from different conditions, but are very similar. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character suffers from an unknown heart condition, and becomes very detached from her husband. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the main character suffers from a psychological condition, and is taken care of by her husband John but slowly grows away from his care. While these women may have very different situations, they are very similar in the way they grow away from their husbands, feeling oppressed by society, and wanting to feel free.

When we compare contrast the two stories "The Yellow Wallpaper" vs. "The Story of an Hour”. If we first look at the similarities that they have, they are both about women who are controlled by their husbands, and who desired freedom. But both women had different reasons for their freedom. It sounds as though both husbands had control over their lives and both women had an illness. But I don’t believe the husbands knew their wives were so miserable. So as we look at the lives of women back in the 19th century time they have the stereotypical trend of being a house wife, staying at home taking care of kids, the house, and aiding the husband in his work. Being in charge of the household makes women have many responsibilities to take care of

"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin give intriguing bits of knowledge to life in the nineteenth century. The short story disputes society's perspective of women during that time period and their duty as just mothers and domestic servants to their spouses. It is evident from a women's activist viewpoint this is a critique on the condition of ladies in the late 1800s, and maybe even of the narrators own battles of the way they are treated by their spouses. This topic is clarified through the portrayal of the narrator's superior husband John, Jane's writings, the narration by Chopin, and the imagery in which the setting of both stories is illustrated. These components depict the confinement

is evident in “An Story of an Hour” that the protagonist lead a very sheltered life due to her illness and

The stories of the Yellow Wallpaper and Story of an Hour are both stories that have deep meaning, and many hidden symbols. In both stories there is a woman who in some way is oppressed by some outside force and must find a way to overcome this oppression. While in both stories the main charcter goes through a different ordeal, The main theme behind these events are the same and the two experiences can compare to eachother. the events match in both women we oppressed by men and portrayed

Body and soul free!” (Chopin 3). In my point of view those feelings that Mrs. Mallard felt at that moment was finally being let go from her husband’s grasp and the shackles of marriage which was an imprisonment to her. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator of the story was remained nameless is confined in a room with eccentric wallpaper, which I think seems to symbolize the complexity and confusion in her life. The narrator’s freedom in this case would be writing, which did not sit well with her husband based on this quote; “There comes John, and I must put this away – he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman 57). For those moments the narrator writes in her journal she feels to have freedom and to express herself from reality, but in secret. The way the narrator describes her room as; “it is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore…I should judge, for the windows, are barred for little children and there are rings and things in the walls” (Gilman 56). This portrayal of the room could be described as confinement for the narrator, and a sense feeling trapped.

Topics of great social impact have been dealt with in many different ways and in many different mediums. Beginning with the first women’s movement in the 1850’s, the role of women in society has been constantly written about, protested, and debated. Two women writers who have had the most impact in the on-going women’s movement are Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The Awakening and The Yellow Wallpaper are two of feminist literature’s cornerstones and have become prolific parts of American literature. Themes of entrapment by social dictates, circumstance, and the desire for personal independence reside within each work and bond the two together.

The vivid descriptions in “The Yellow Wallpaper” help to bring the reader along in the narrators decent into a kind of psychosis. It starts mildly, with her describing the color of wallpaper as “repellant, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow” (Gilman 528). As more time passes she begins to see more things in the paper such as “a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes start at you,” and for it have “so much expression in an inanimate thing” (Gilman 592). As the pattern and descriptions get more twisted, we get visual clues of the madness that is slowly consuming the narrator. The color of the paper even begins to become a physical thing she can smell descried as, “creep[ing] all over the house...sulking...hiding...lying in wait for me…It gets into my hair” (Gilman 534). In the end we get a graphic visual representation of her full psychosis

Throughout history, women have struggled to be seen as equals and have had to fight for their freedom from the roles society placed upon them. Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman both use their literary works to show the challenges women went through, and how they battled for the freedoms they desperately wanted. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story about a woman that goes to a summer home to rest and get well under the supervision of her husband who is also a physician. Her husband decided it would be best if she sat in a room alone and did nothing. In the end, she becomes insane and finally finds her freedom. “The Story of An Hour” is about, Mrs. Mallard, a woman who has just found out her husband has died. Mrs. Mallard

As we go about our lives, we experience many situations that put us through uncompromising times. We tend to be convinced that we are the only ones undergoing these hardships. Contrary to believe, there are other individuals that face the same misfortunes. In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a young woman, known as Jane to the readers, suffers with depression and deprivation of creativity because her husband believes she is delusional and loses herself in the wallpaper. In “Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, another woman named Mrs. Mallard is diagnosed with heart trouble and receives the news of the death of her husband, but instantaneously dies from a happy heart. Both of the women in the stories share the

This oppressive nature results in an inferiority complex being developed by the narrator. The narrator is unable to express her opinion

In this essay I will be comparing the two short stories “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”. “The Story of an Hour”, written by Kate Chopin, is centered around a woman by the name Louise Mallard and her reaction after being informed of her husbands “death”, On the other hand “The Yellow Wallpaper” Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is about Jane, A young, newly married mother who at the time is undergoing care because of her depression. Although both essays have their similarities and differences I will be focusing mainly on the themes of Freedom, Isolation and Oppression. I will also be focusing on how the themes appear within both short stories and do a compare and contrast about the way the themes appear in the two short stories.