The theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state because both women lack freedom to be themselves. Becoming a wife meant that their own aspirations and interests had to take a backseat to their husband’s and now he has the autonomy to dictate their destiny. The way the society was set up is that there were certain expectations that a woman and a good wife had to follow and there were no exceptions to those rules. “It lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed, But only to himself is known, The fathoms they abide”. It went without saying that women would be forced to follow the same set of rules once they are married in order to be perceived as a “good woman and wife” and not bring a disgrace to their family. Mrs. Mallard couldn’t help but feel relieved at the thought that she now has the freedom to be herself:”There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature”.
Daily Archives: October 19, 2022
In ”A good man is hard to find” I think it’s a story that inside is about the massacre of an entire family, father, mother, children and grandmother, by a convicted murderer and two of the accomplices. The family takes a road trip and dies on the way to their destination. However, the grandmother is a believing woman who, from my point of view, I see as hypocritical because whoever is religious cannot be speaking lies and/or have classism before others; deception is experienced with her because she appears to be another person even in a quite shameless way since even if she tries to disguise it, she is hypocritical and is the one who leads her family to obtain something tragic, that is why we should not deceive prejudices based on cataloging with where we judge people based on how they look without even knowing who they really are.
She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. The Story of the Hour says how the wife (Mrs. Mallard) is finally free, how she saw the future would belong to her, and she is excited about it. It relates to ” The wife” because the poem tells us how the wife gave up everything (2) and took the honor of being a housewife and “dropped The playthings of her life, To take the honor, Of woman and of wife.” In ” Story of the hour, Mrs. Mallard repeats, ” Free! Body and soul free! “, although she loves her husband, there are times when she doesn’t (13). “And yet she had loved him — sometimes.” The two stories’ theme connects because they are both wife who are lost and become a housewife. But then became free once their husband’s died
The theme of Emily Dickinson Poem”The Wife” related to Mrs. Mallards Emotional State in “The Story of an Hour” based on both is the time period, they both were based in a time when women had to depend on men. In “The Wife” the first stanza was “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.If aught she missed in her new day”. I feel like what was said shares a similar meaning in “the story of the hour” when the wife said ”There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” they both realize being with a man you feel tied down and like your life isn’t your own anymore. The only difference is one just got married and the other thinks she just became a widow.
In the poem “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson the author talks about a woman getting married is like giving up a part of her and taking up new responsibilities. The marriage slowly washes away the woman’s youth and views of society. She also mentions how hard it is for a woman to escape this marriage. I connected with “The Story of an Hour?” because in the beginning when Mrs. Mallard learned that her husband had died she cried like how she saw other women do that is how far she has slinked into the sea as mentioned in the poem. But then she realized that she would be free and that she could finally claw out of this marriage which in the poem is symbolized by the sea and how deep a woman has sunken into the water is shown in the “The Story of an Hour?” by when Mrs. Mallard realized she should be happy that she is free even if it was a lie.
