Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

Powerful Forces that Affect Autonomous Female Self and Love in Two Classical Literary Works

Over the course of history, women's rights and their place in society has been bombarded by many challenges. Some of these challenges have included, but are not limited to, the right to vote, run for office and have an education. Before the civil rights movement, many women were expected to stay home and rear children. In sharp contrast, many 21st-century women have jobs, go to college and hold public office, while making their own decisions - autonomously. The historical challenges that women have faced and, in some cases still are, can directly influence their freedom of choice to live autonomously. An example of this is exemplified through a woman's

In “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard finds autonomy by having no husband. Mrs. Mallard, though having a heart problem, felt that she was able to do something with her life if it were not for the chains of a marriage. It was also a marriage that was possibly not even her choice (Admin). This can be exemplified when Miss Mallard comes to the realization that, "there would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself." (Mays 672). While, in “A Rose for Emily”, Emily finds autonomy by seeking a partner in a different social class. She does this despite opposition from the town in which she lived. In these short stories, the women's autonomous self-influences differ emotionally. For example, in Chopin's story, Mrs. Mallard finds joy in her autonomy, while in Faulkner’s story Emily despairs to the point of killing her romantic partner. This is exemplified, when in “A Rose for Emily”, it states, "The man himself lay in the bed. For a long time while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin."(Mays 784). Now that we have seen the differences of these two stories let’s look at how they compare to each

The stories, while set in a time when women had fewer legal rights, exemplified how they still embrace their anatomy, in their own ways, despite social stigmas and pressures. This is clearly shown by Mrs. Mallard's through Emily's actions throughout the short story. Both main characters let their love grow cold in their own unique ways. Interestingly, Emily and Mrs. Mallard loved their romantic partners at times; however, both lost their partners in the end - for better or for worst. Overall, the stories showed that romantic love and autonomy does not guarantee happiness. They also demonstrated how powerful forces such as one’s class and sociological standards can affect the autonomous female self and love. With this in mind, I wonder, “How does they affect human rights in our society