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.
2 thoughts on “Lalique Gordon-George”
Hi Latique! I agree with your interpretation. Like you pointed out it’s the time period where women had to depend on men and the time which had very rigid rules where women had little to no freedom. You made a great point that getting married basically meant that “your life isn’t your own anymore” and you are destined to be tied down from that point on because it wasn’t an equal partnership but the husband’s will alone was the only one that mattered.
Hey Lalique, nice discussion post. I agree with the similarities you bring up in your post. I feel like Mrs. Mallard can absolutely relate to the woman in the poem. She was probably once excited to be a married woman, but maybe after the discovery of her heart disease she began to have a new look out on life. Or maybe her marriage just became unhappy over the years. It’s really sad to me that Mrs. Mallard waited until the death of her husband to allow herself to feel “freedom”. Many people stay in unhappy relationships too long due to fear of being alone.