I was surprised by two things in “Story of An Hour.” The first is Mrs. Mallard whispering “freedom” to herself after sobbing when hearing her husband has passed away. I was taken aback by this unexpected change of emotions. The other section that surprised me is the end when Mr. Mallard winds up being alive. That was completely unexpected!
I was intrigued and entertained by the irony in “Story of An Hour” and “The Necklace.” These stories use humor to deal with underlying themes; patriarchy in “Story of An Hour” and class differences in “The Necklace.” I found it clever that Guy de Maupassant decided to make Madame Forestier’s necklace fake, ultimately making a statement of how artificial the wealthy world is.
I am puzzled by female authors who contributed to sexist ideas in the various female lifestyle magazines quoted in the article “The Cult of True Womanhood,” like Mrs. A. J. Graves and Fanny Forester. How can they just blindly follow this strict description of what being a woman is? Not only adhere to this submissive role, but to reinforce it. It is so hypocritical to write an article for a publication that will publish another article on how women need no education other than religion.
4 thoughts on “Victoria Santagato Discussion 9”
Victoria, thanks for the good comments, which surprised and intrigued me! I couldn’t agree more with your final puzzlement. I try not to bring my personal politics into class, but I often wonder the same about modern-day women who seem (to me) to be espousing ideas that restrict the freedoms of women today. I’m not sure those 19th Century women traditionalists were hypocrites; I think they believed those ideas in part because of Biblical interpretations. Hmm, maybe I should apply this generosity to the modern-day women I do not agree with. Thanks for making me think harder!
On your comment about the women authors. I believe oppression is a system that many people have to buy into. These women authors played a part in keeping the status quo at the time. Change is tough because people have to decide as a society that something is wrong and it can take years to dispose of old ideas. I’m sure in our society, there will be things in the future that are questioned. As we learn more, we can understand a better way to coexist.
Hi Victoria, I found your analysis very detailed especially in relation to the fact that Mrs Louise whispered the word on several occasions it shows that
she was beginning to realize that she too could be free. I also agree on the effect of surprise caused by the reappearance of her husband. This shows that female writers have contributed to sexist ideas of a woman’s role in the home. You can preserve your freedom while being with someone
When Mrs. Mallard was proclaiming her freedom after learning the death of her husband, I thought it was intriguing. It made me stop and think what happened in their relationship? How was the husband’s behavior? Did she feel he exhausted her with “wife duties”? and was he mistreating her? I took her yelling about her freedom as her finally feeling the escape of her husband. Maybe he was abusive and she couldn’t leave him before.