The quote that I chose as “It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature” by Henry James. This quote corelates with the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. In this story, we see Mrs. Mallard responding to her husband’s sudden death. We are not given any further description on her circumstances other than a description of what she looks like, that she has a heart condition, and what her thought process is. We also know the time period in which it was written, and that it was written by a woman. Even though it is not written, the reader would know based on these bits of information that it was frowned upon for women to not be married during this time period. Historically speaking, widows were able to have more autonomy over their own lives at that time, especially when their late husbands were well off.
One thought on “Discussion Board Week 5”
Hi Tess, I would never want to be a woman back in these times!!! Would you? I certainly don’t like to take orders from anyone, including my husband, if I had one. Honestly, I think woman were treated horrible back in those days. They didn’t have their independence, they basically lived for their husbands. If you weren’t married back in those days, they would think you were crazy right! Could you even see yourself having an arranged marriage? That is so crazy. I would run away from home for sure.