Final Exam

Roles for women in society have changed from century to century. There were centuries were women were put on a pedestal and were expected to obey their husband and if not they had to other means to provided for themselves, or more like the present century were women are just as equal as men and are independent as ever. There is a author by the name of Kate Chopin who lived in the times were women were expected to obey their husbands but had the mindset of a time, more like the present, were women could be more independent.

Kate Chopin wrote two short stories in particular that shows this idea of thinking. One is “A Respectable Woman” a story in which a man invites his life time friend to stay with him and his wife for a little while. During this time it is very clear that the wife, Mrs. Baroda, has certain attractions to her husband’s friend, Gouvernail, but due to the certain century is not permitted to act upon those feelings. During the stay Mrs. Baroda does everything in her power to avoid Gouvernail until he leaves. When he finally does leave Mrs. Baroda has a change of attitude towards the situation, she tells her husband that his friend, Gouvernail, is invited back anytime time and that she will be very “nice” to him. The second short story that relates to this independent women idea is called “The Story of an Hour”. This short story is about a woman, Mrs. Mallard, and her emotional path after her husband dies. At first she seems to be unquestionably distrait at the fact her husband had just died; however, when she retires to her room she comes face to face with something coming towards her. After she faces this monster her attitude changes, Mrs. Mallard keeps whispering how she is and I quote “Free! Body and soul free!” ...

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...ra in which these short stories were published. If you know history the Elizabethan Era, the era in which Kate Chopin lived and these stories were written, was a time were women had few rights and certain topics were hush-hush. The fact is, is that Kate Chopin had a tremendous difficulty trying to get these published, a difficulty that today’s women would not have.

As you can see from both of these short stories, the women today have come a long way from what past centuries have expected women to be, now we can only learn from the past and not constrict the roles that certain genders have in our society. Women today are strong and independent.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. "A Respectable Woman." The Collected Short Stories of the Victorain Era. New York: Viking Press, 2088. 98-99. Print.

—. "The Story of an Hour." Vogue (1894): 83-84. Print. 11 December 2013.