The Unbreakable Hold
“Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich has several similarities as well as a few differences. Throughout history, women have been expected to submit to their husbands in many ways. They were to do this without any objections. A woman, during the 19th century, secretly dreamed of becoming free of this unnecessary authority. These two stories have one main subject in common: a want for freedom from a husband’s hold in marriage. Both of these women felt trapped within their marriage and simply wanted a way out. “Story of an Hour” begins as a tale about a woman who is struck with the devastating news that her husband has died in a train accident. However, this was not so crippling to the wife, Mrs. Mallard. Her emotions overwhelmed her. When she looked out her window while sitting in her chair,
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Simply, “Story of an Hour” is a short story, and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is a three stanza poem. This difference is quite important because Chopin’s story gives us more insight and information than Rich’s poem because it is longer. Another difference is that Aunt Jennifer could only express herself through her art in tapestry knitting. Her tigers were a reflection of her spirit and dreams of freedom. Mrs. Mallard received her realization of freedom from the images she saw out of the window of her bedroom. She saw birds flying, blue skies, and new spring life blooming everywhere. Lastly, Mrs. Mallard actually received her freedom while having an epiphany in her bedroom, even though it was stripped from her soon after when her husband, Brently Mallard, came through the door alive as he could be. She had a heart attack from the realization that she would have to go back to her old life of pleasing her husband. On the other hand, Aunt Jennifer never actually received her freedom from her husband. He would always have that hold on