Oppression In The Story Of An Hour

The Oppression of Women Rosa Parks once said, “There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take... The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” Literature often reflects such oppression and how it can lead to despair in the characters’ lives. For example, the lives of Jane in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour,” and Miss Emily in “A Rose for Emily,” prove that an overwhelming amount of oppression can affect a person’s mental state.

A woman in each of these stories struggles due to the oppression from which she suffers at the hands of either her husband or her father.

Jane, in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” falls under the oppression of her husband. Gilman writes, “He is very careful and

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This article states that “The Yellow Wallpaper” confronts the issue of oppressive husband-wife relationships during this time period, which is proven all throughout the short story. Gilman composes, "Bless her little heart!" said he with a big hug, "she shall be as sick as she pleases! But now let's improve the shining hours by going to sleep, and talk about it in the morning!" (10). John talked down to her like she was a young child, not like she was his wife. John, the husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” oppresses his wife, Jane, to an extent that makes her mentally

Emily from “A Rose for Emily,” is oppressed by her father who passed away. Faulkners writes, “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will” (Page 4). In the short story, Emily’s father is proven to have been oppressive to her after running off every young gentleman that came around looking to court Miss. Emily. “Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily's father had loaned money to the town, which the town, as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying” (Faulkner Page 1). Because of Emily’s father loaning money to the town, Emily was not supposed to have to pay taxes as long as she lives. This is an example of Miss Emily being sheltered by her father, which later on, leads to him oppressing her. David Madden describes Miss Emily as this oppressed character as