Similarities Between The Yellow Wallpaper And The Story Of An Hour

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin share a common theme regarding how women were mistreated in the 18th-19th century. “The Yellow Wallpaper” follows the story of a woman on her way to recovering from postpartum depression using the rest cure, which inevitably makes her go crazy. In “The Story of an Hour,” a housewife, Loise Mallard, is informed of the accident which killed her husband. After Mrs. Mallard's grief subsides, she begins to see the bright side of her husband's death. However, her husband returns home later that night, which causes Mrs. Mallard to die from a heart problem. Both main characters, the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Mrs. Mallard, showcase how poorly women

The narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is being forced, by her husband John, to stay cooped up all day. The nameless narrator who will be called Jane is suffering from postpartum depression, and by her husband's orders, she is unwillingly trapped in the house, isolated from the rest of the world. Jane states, “When I get really well John says we will ask Cousin Henry and Julia down for a long visit; but he says he would as soon put fireworks in my pillowcase as to let me have those stimulating people about now”(Gilman 5). This quote is a prime example of how her husband did not allow her to see other people; John will not let her see her own family due to her condition. Likewise, in “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard’s husband is reported dead, and she feels that she is finally free from his control. Louise expresses, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature”(Chopin 2). This quote shows how Mrs. Mallard feels about no longer being controlled since her husband's death. Now that her husband is gone, she can finally live for herself and no one

At the end of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Jane metaphorically escapes the wallpaper, representing women's oppression in society however, she seems to have lost her mind in the process. Jane states, “‘I’ve got out at last,’ said I, ‘In spite of you and Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!’ Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!”(Gilman 17). At the end of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Jane breaks free from the control of her husband, and this quote is prime evidence. This quote also shows how Jane has become crazier than she was. In like fashion, Mrs.Mallard also became free, just not the way that most would expect. Kate Chopin writes, “He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richard’s quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. But Richard was too late. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-- of joy that kills”(Chopin 30). This quote shows that when Mrs.Mallard sees her husband alive and realizes she will continue being controlled, she dies. Her death grants her freedom, yet death is not a happy