Entrapped Females in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour and William Faulkners The Rose for Emily - Essay Example

Faulkner’s Miss Emily and Chopin’s Mrs. Mallard epitomize female entrapment within the confines of the patriarchal society. Indeed, both stories employ the theme of freedom versus control; nevertheless, both conclude that female emancipation is impossible within the inescapable cage of patriarchy. In Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, the narrator refers to the female protagonist as Mrs. Mallard, her first name is omitted and in a sense she is reduced to her marital status as a married woman.

Upon the news in regard to her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard feels a relief and a sense of freedom. Although, she cries out of relief, the society misinterprets her tears of relief as tears of mourning. She thinks that she would be free after her husband died. However, society’s expectations are different than hers. They expect her to be unhappy due to her husband’s loss. She resists to this expectation and chooses to feel free after the death of her husband; the narrator notes that “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her”.

She feels genuinely happy that no one would control and restrict her freedom in the upcoming years: “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. Nevertheless, Mrs. Mallard’s happiness and dreams of freedom last only for an hour. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Mr. Mallard is alive to the surprise of his wife as well as the reader. However, the reader, who knows the thoughts of the protagonist very well, understands that she had died due to her grief.

Nevertheless, the society again misinterprets her cause of death. The narrator ironically comments that the doctors told that she had died because of the “joy that kills”. . For Mrs. Mallard, her husband’s death symbolizes ultimate freedom and lack of control. Nevertheless, Mrs. Mallard’s happiness and dreams of freedom last only for an hour. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Mr. Mallard is alive to the surprise of his wife as well as the reader. However, the reader, who knows the thoughts of the protagonist very well, understands that she had died due to her grief.

Nevertheless, the society again misinterprets her cause of death. The narrator ironically comments that the doctors told that she had died because of the “joy that kills”. Indeed, Mrs. Mallard is a very strong female character, who does not easily fit into the stereotypes and expectations of the patriarchal society. She feels happy and free, when she is expected to be sad; she feels grief when she is expected to be joyous. In the story, there is a stark contrast between female protagonist’s thoughts and the society expectations from her.

In Faulkner’s story, the narrator also refers to the female protagonist in line with her marital status as “Miss” Emily. However, the title of the story refers to her as just “Emily”. Nevertheless, her “unfortunate” marital status is highlighted throughout the story, while the society portrayed her as a poor spinster and called her “Poor Emily”. However, Emily is different from Mrs. Mallard in a sense that she sought the institution of marriage in order to escape the controlling gaze of patriarchal society, while Mrs.

Mallard, who experienced the oppression of marriage, saw the end of marriage as a way of salvation and freedom. Indeed, each and every move of Emily is under strict surveillance