Inequality Between Men And Women In The 1800s

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Around the time of the 1800s, there were extreme differences between men and women when compared to societal standards. They were held to different standards that we do not see in today’s societal norms. Men were considered the breadwinners while women stayed home to cook and clean. Anything other than this was looked at straying away from the status quo, the norm and or ideals of society as a whole. Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” illustrates the influence of gender inequality between men and women in 1894 through the marriage of the characters, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard. When compared to the women of 1800’s, Mrs. Mallard embodies the true definition of how a woman felt during that time. There are many reasons to believe that Mrs. Mallard felt as if she was being repressed in her marriage. For instance, after being informed about the train accident that took her husband’s life, Mrs. Mallard retreats to her room only to sit in “a comfortable, roomy armchair” that is “facing the open window” (Chopin 215). It can be inferred that Mrs. Mallard positioned the chair to face the window because she was, technically speaking, on the outside looking in. …show more content…

One can interpret that the sky is used to symbolize Mrs. Mallard’s personality shining through the clouds, which can be seen as Brently’s command over her. She later came to the conclusion that she was “free, free, free!” from the control of Brently Mallard (Chopin, 216). Chopin uses the season, spring, as another way to reaffirm Mrs. Mallard that her husband’s death had more positives than negatives. Louise no longer had to accept her husband’s “powerful will” that bends her own (Chopin, 216). Now that Mr. Mallard is out of her life, she can be her own person and make decisions that please

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