The poem “The Wife” conveys the theme of the struggle between social norms and self willingness to be a wife in the 19th century. It starts with describing the early stage of a woman being a wife who has to “drop the playings of her life to take the honorable of women and of wife.” In “The Story of an Hour”, Louise is a perfect example that manages to do that. Her sister Josephine and Richards both believe she is a respectful wife who has already gotten rid of naivety and become totally mature. Louise does feel sad right after she hears the news of her husband’s death due to the honors she has today benefits from the marriage. However, when she goes back to the room and thinks alone, her imagination of a future living without a husband makes her feel excited and happy that never had before. By looking at the vibrant scene through the window, she realizes she sacrifices the whole world for the marriage, just as Emily Dickinson writes “Of first prospective, or the gold in using wore away.” in “The Wife”. She is ready to grasp the chance to enjoy the freedom for the rest of her life. Finally, however, the return of her husband destroys her last hope. At that time, there is no way for her to pursue freedom since her potential has been escaped under marriage. The cause of her death “lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed.” Under the great pressure of social norms, Confirming death as an attribute to joy at least leaves her the last dignity.
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One thought on “Jiaxing Rong Discussion 9”
Johnason, your remarks are very insightful. They make me think of the strange fact that Mrs. Mallard feels truly alive when she believes her husband is dead; she dies when she finds that, in fact, he is still alive. It is not joy that kills her, as the narrator writes with extreme irony, but the horror of returning the life she has been living after that brief taste of freedom.