During an earlier time period, women were not on equal footing with men. The Story Of An Hour by Kate Chopin and The Wife by Emily Dickinson relate heavily to this theme since they both address the unhappiness of the oppressed woman. At the time, a woman’s main goal was to find a husband and sustain a family.
In more cases than not, the wife would wind up miserable and emotionally suppressed. Mrs. Mallard from the Story Of An Hour suffered the same fate up until her husband’s death which is when she had finally realized what she had been missing for all those years. She briefly shares her thoughts in this quote: “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free! The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes “. On a more imaginative note, the poem, The Wife, by Emily Dickinson also alludes to the unfortunate wife’s sacrifice to her husband and family. Laying out the imagery, Emily wrote: (referring to the wife’s depression)
“It lay unmentioned, as the sea
Develops pearl and weed,”
To me this evokes a deep, sinking feeling as mentioning the sea is synonymous with depth. Seemingly, nobody knows about the troubles that come in upholding entire families and nobody cares. I believe both of the characters I mentioned were emotionally, and at some points physically, stuck in pits of desperation as they went completely unnoticed.
3 thoughts on “WEEK 9 ISABELLA SENA”
Hey,
I liked your response a lot. You and I brought up the same quote. You brought up a new point of how these women must feel like they are drowning. Like they are submerged underwater and can’t move. I didn’t consider this point of view I saw this more so as them leaving behind a part of their lives that they could no longer touch.
The quote you stated about the sea and pearls made me think deeper and I agree with how you explained how nobody knows the troubles marriage brings or cares about it. In my opinion, I think it also means the man is the pearl and the woman the weeds, the woman having potential but her worth remains unchanged. Sometimes people see it as the pearl is precious and the weeds are just there, one more precious than the other. The feeling of independence the woman wanted so she doesn’t have to feel that pressure people think of and can act of her own free will.
Isabella, I like your last comments so much. Yes, no one knows about the inheld emotions of the women—and no one cares!