Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And Clothes, By Kate Chopin

Despite what some may believe, everyone deserves the opportunity to find purpose and meaning in their life, regardless of their background. Naturally, this includes women; however, for those with relationships that deter them from any dreams they may have, this is not possible. A major theme in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the theme that equality in relationships is key to forming bonds that can grow successfully along with the individuals themselves. It is well known that during the nineteenth century, married women were considered the property of their husbands. Because of this, Chopin’s main character, Louise in “The Story of an Hour,”

The symbolism and imagery Chopin utilizes to emphasize the idea that Louise deserved to be her own individual are detrimental to the passage. An especially notable moment is when Louise is “striving to beat [her excitement] back with her will—as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been” because the image Chopin paints of Louise symbolizes her powerlessness throughout her marriage (Chopin 96). This also displays how she cannot help but be excited about the possibilities in her future to find her own purpose and meaning. This idea is expounded upon in “Time and Gender in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’” by Fahimeh Berenji when it is explained that Louise and Jane were both in situations where there was an “impossibility of. success in their struggle” (223). Both Louise and Jane were in relationships that restricted them from pursuing anything that gave them a purpose in their life, and both suffered severely because of

Clearly, Gilman wanted to convey to her audience that Jane needed someone that would listen to her pleas for help and notice that what she truly required was purpose. John did the opposite of this. Rather than trusting his wife and her actions, he keeps Jane from the tasks that help her maintain her sanity. For example, “there comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman 172). Gilman also uses symbolism and imagery throughout the yellow wallpaper as a way to indicate Jane’s mental state. Everything Jane imagines inside the wallpaper is a reflection of her situation. Just as Jane is a woman trapped in a room with bars on the windows, the wallpaper “becomes bars”! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be” (Gilman 4). When Jane eventually sees herself as one with the wallpaper, the audience knows that this should have been prevented, and that with the right people’s support, it could have been. Sumita, in “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, acts as a prime example of how one can grow through healthy