The Story of an Hour was very interesting to read. It was by far the most interesting and I think it is relatable in some sort away. I think we can see that although Mrs. Mallard received the tragic news of her husband dying. She took it well unlike others. In the poem, The Wife, it says “ …dropped the playthings of her life to take the honorable role of woman and of wife” it seems like she chose to become a wife and left things that she liked behind. Just like Mrs. Mallard said “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” I feel like she felt like she was tied down. Then in the second verse it says “If aught she missed in her new day of amplitude, or awe, Or first prospective, or the gold In using wore away” from what I understand is that they wondered what they were missing out on. I feel like they both describe being stuck in this position they chose to which was being a wife. She wasn’t happy.
Daily Archives: October 21, 2022
These two pieces of literature “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin “The Wife ” by Emily Dickinson took place during the 19th century and show what women had to deal with. They had little freedom and had to do certain things because of their gender. The poem “The Wife ” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state as in the poem it shows a wife who has to give up what they like in order to do what people expected women to do. In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard at first is sad at the news of her husband’s death. but later realizes that she no longer has to do what is expected of her and she now is free from expectations. Just like the poem Mrs. Mallard also once had to give her freedom away but not anymore. In the poem “The Wife” it says,” or the gold in using wore away.” The wife in the poem can’t use her gold anymore but Mrs. Mallard can now that she has her freedom back.
The first thing we notice is how Women are debilitated by adjusting to social jobs. We realize that Louise Mallard opposed her longing for opportunity through a functioning restraint of musings that disregarded the particulars of female family life. Sarah Penn likewise opposed normal driving forces by devoting herself to the perfection of household womanhood. This prompts a significant split between the outward life and the inward experience that is ruinous to oneself and to the encompassing society. In the Story of an Hour,” she utilizes various types of abstract components to unmistakably characterize her story and to demonstrate the majority of the implications behind what occurs in the story. There is a wide range of sorts of abstract components utilized in this short story however I accept the most significant one is incongruity. Incongruity is the thing that she used the most throughout the story right into the end which was by far what gave the story a grievous and unexpected completion. The unpredictable, uncertain tone of this segment of the story is inferred by the blended symbolism of “patches of blue sky appearing to a great extent through the mists”. Louise’s life is immediately dim, yet new alternatives are starting to first light (Evans). It’s the shrouded imagery like this in this story that uncovers the implications of everything and how she is truly feeling. Now perusers are confounded about whether he was a decent spouse or now however it unmistakably demonstrates that he was not an awful one since she is miserable. She simply doesn’t feel a similar route about him any longer so that is the reason she has an entirely different “free” life in front of her.
The theme of “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson is that of a woman’s duties by societies standards in the role of wife during that era and the sacrifices she is forced to endure. The poem is from the perspective of a woman who is trapped in her duties as a wife. In the first stanza, Ms. Dickinson speaks of the subject letting go of the things that bring her joy to conform to her role as a wife (“She rose to his requirement, Dropped the playthings of her life to take the honorable work of woman and of wife”) The second and third stanza to me touch on the woman reflecting on missing aspects of her former self/life (“if ought she missed…”) in this perceived higher station as a wife (“in her new day of amplitude and awe..”) and dealing with those emotions by burying them deep away within herself to never address (“It lay unmentioned as the sea develop pearl and weed…”). To me the relation I get between theme of The Wife and the emotional state of Mrs. Mallard’s in “The Story of an Hour” is that they are complete mirror opposites of one another, but they can be looked at as two halves of the same whole. The wife in Ms. Dickinson’s poem can be seen as Mrs. Mallard right before she got the news her husband had died. She feels trapped, bound by the rules of social culture. interpreting the poem, we can speculate she may have been experiencing depression, feeling caged in her societal station. Continuing this train of thought, Mrs. Mallard would represent the perceived emotional response the wife in Dickinson’s’ poem upon finding herself unchained from the shackles of her marriage would exhibit. The woman while saddened by her husband’s death because it […]
The theme of the Emily Dickinson poem “The Wife” is closely related to “The Story of an Hour?” because both speak on the jobs or requirements of a wife when they go into marriage. Wives are expected to drop what they have in life and conform to what their husband wants. In the first section of the poem it says. “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.” This directly tells us that she would not have a life of her own anymore rather she is a sort of entity attached to her husband. Working for the husband and that being their only role. It relates to The story of an Hour because when she found out that her husband had been in an accident she was ecstatic that her husband had passed and had gained back her life only to find out that the news was false and the husband was still alive. The last section of the poem also mentions “It lay unmentioned, as the sea Develops pearl and weed,” The way I view this line is as long as a woman is married their own personality is buried deeper and develops weeds that shroud their own personality which is separate from their role as a “wife”
In their works, both Mrs. Mallard and Emily Dickinson discuss the notion of being a woman during highly patriarchal times. Living in a patriarchal society, both describe being married or associated with their man as suffocating and limiting. While Mrs. Mallard is relieved to hear of her husband’s death, Dickinson also sees being a wife’s role as limiting. It is apparent from her poem that she feels lost or depressed in her new role of being a wife; “If aught she missed in her new day. Of amplitude or awe. Or first prospective, or the gold. In using wore away, It lay unmentioned, as the sea. Develops pearl and weed,” In entering the life of marriage, the woman leaves all her ‘playthings’ behind to be a wife instead- it automatically connects to the sense of losing oneself. Therefore, both authors explore the powerful theme of womanhood and identity in patriarchal societies.
In the story “Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the wife Mrs. Mallard of course mourned her husbands death in such sorrow, weeping in her dear sisters arms for comfort of her loss. When she was finally alone in her room staring out the window she mourned a little more, until she felt a sense of freedom come over her. She no longer felt trapped in the hold that marriage has, especially at that point in time. the wife in “Story of An Hour” and the wife in the poem by Emily Dickinson “The Wife” correlate; “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.” Those lines are so powerful, because they emphasize on what being a wife meant, having to let go of your own sense of self to dedicate yourself to a man, a husband. Those words in “The Wife” is what Mrs. Mallard had to do in her marriage, once her husband had passed she knew she would be free from being dutiful to a person other than herself.
In the poem “the Wife” by Emily Dickson the theme is realization, the wife comes to a realization that to meet her husband requirements she will have to drop the enjoyments of her life and devote herself as a wife “it lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed, but only to himself is known the fathoms they abide” this theme relates to the emotional state of Mrs. Mallard in the story “the story of an Hour” by showing her coming to the realization after she found out her husband is dead that she’s finally free and able to live for herself.
The theme of the Emily Dickinson poem “The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour” in the sense that the women have both lost their identity to a man. The first two parts of the poem talk about how the woman is dropping everything in her life to go and fulfill the duties of a wife and devote her life to a man. In the story “The Story of an Hour” the main character cries due to the news of her late husband, but not entirely for the reason of sadness. She is crying because she is happy that she gets to become an individual again. Many people in relationships might find themselves losing their identity to their partner, instead of keeping their own individuality. It can be tough to maintain that sense of self when you are enamored and focused on your partner, but it is vital to keep those parts of yourself that make you, YOU! Both women in each of the works we had to analyze lost that part of them self and it screams a tone of sadness in each work.
Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” and Kate Chopin’s short story “Story of an Hour” have two main characters that feel very similar. Both of these texts are centered around women whose lives are defined by being married and neither one of them like it. The “Story of an Hour”‘s main character Mrs. Mallard’s husband just died, and she comes to the realization that while she might have felt sad at first, she was then overwhelmed with this feeling this she could finally be free. Be free to be her own person. She had been forced to sacrifice a good part of her life just to be her husband’s wife. She wasn’t allowed to be her own individual. This is very similar to the theme of “The Wife”. There the reverse is happening. A woman is being forced to set aside her own life, and her own identity for a man’s. Emily Dickinson writes, “It lay unmentioned, as the sea Develops pearl and weed” (Dickinson). Here, she is describing how the wife in the poem is going to have to lay aside all of her ambitions, her personal life, and her own interests now that she is married.
Just by reading the title of Emily Dickinson’s poem, The Wife, I predicted that it will be from the perspective of a woman telling her readers how life has changed on her behalf after marriage. Dickinson’s states, “She rose to his requirement, dropped the playthings of her life. To take the honorable work of woman and of wife.” Within the first paragraph, the writer makes it clear that she has changed her ways to live up to his standards. Further throughout the poem, she mentions that “It lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed.” She would repress her emotions and freewill to be the wife she believes she is supposed to be. This theme connects to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour.” In the beginning of the story the news of her husband’s passing is broken to her. She is filled with grief, locking herself away in her room. Though as shes processing reality as a widow, she sees beyond that- a free and independent woman. She was accustomed to living for someone other than herself. It seems to have filled her with excitement.”There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for 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.” Shortly after, Mrs. Mallard passes away after the moment she evidently yearned for was taken from her when Mr. Mallard walked through the door.
