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An Exploration Of Gender In Joyce Carol Oates 'Story Of An Hour'

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Jesse Huchingson Professor Baker Critical thinking and comp 26 February 2023 An Exploration of Gender Relations Through Fiction Throughout our time studying short fiction, we were made to read several stories with a theme that can be noticed throughout, that being the intensely nuanced relationships between the sexes. In Kate Chopin's “Story of an Hour” Mrs Mallard is initially struck by the most intense grief regarding her husband's apparent passing. This grief turns to joy as Mrs Mallard realizes her freedom from her husband's constraints. In a much more morbid tale, although still exploring themes of men’s desire to exert their control over women. Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where are you going where have you been” offers a much more bleak conclusion, …show more content…

The societal expectation of men being dominant and women being submissive has been a pervasive theme throughout history. This is reflected in the treatment of women in both of the aforementioned stories. In “Story of an Hour”, Mrs Mallard is initially seen as a grieving widow, someone who is unable to function without the support of her husband. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that her grief is not just about her husband's death, but also about the loss of her percieved security and dependance. This threat of lost security is what commonly kept women in situations of abuse, without the financial ability to become independent, Women commonly had to remain under Men’s oppression. In Mrs. Mallards case this grief turns to her realization of her own independence and autonomy without the need for her …show more content…

Arnold's pursuit of Connie is a chilling example of the ways in which men have historically used violence and intimidation to exert their control over women. Arnold's attempts to seduce and subjugate Connie represent a broader pattern of male violence and domination, which is still unfortunately all too common in contemporary society. Arnold Friend states “"I'll have my arms tight around you so you won't need to try to get away and I'll show you what love is like” This statement “I’ll show you what love is like” is perfectly succinct to the theme, all too often men desire women, not in a romantic connotation but in a sort of perverse, almost hateful

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