Atwood vs. Chopin
The late 1800s were a time of repression for women. A woman was expected to conform to her husband's ideals and accept a life of his control. Even today, the relationship between men and women sometimes seems unequal. There is hardly ever an equal and fair relationship between a female and her spouse. Most of the time a man has a higher status than a woman does, whether it be in an occupation or in a household. In the short story "The Story of an Hour," we are shown an illustration of the idea of self-fulfillment. Conventional relationships have also been found to be very few and far between. The only relationship which seem to be found between a man and a woman today are those which are where only one loves the other, and no love is shown in return. "Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings" shows the different conventional relationships between a man and a woman, where through every different plot someone ends up dead due to the fact of a bad or uncooperative relationship. Kate Chopin employs the tool of irony in "The Story of an Hour," to illustrate the problem relative to marital relationships in which one individual imposes his "private will" upon the other. She presents, through the story of Mrs. Mallard, an issue
Even though at times she had loved him, she is now regaining her freedom. Chopin, a feminist ahead of her time, uses irony in this particular story to show the unequal role women had in relationships in the late 1800s. Mallard begins to fantasize about living her life for herself. The purpose of irony in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is to convey a message without saying it explicitly. This plot is situated around dramatic irony, due to the fact that we know that Mary does not love John but stays with him because she "feels sorry for him. This is showed in how she thinks he will change if she does everything he wants her to, but truly we, the reader, know that it will continue on without any transfiguration. The woman, Louise, dies from heart failure on the spot. The first part of the story is told in a cynical tone, therefore the idea of a happy ending in itself becomes a cliche of life. Their role in society was trifling compared to what men had. "The Story of an Hour" is a story of great irony. This cliche allows the reader's to question their own lives on whether or not they too are running their lives like the following plots. Once Louise Mallard recognizes her desire to live for herself, desire that her marriage will not grant her, her heart will not allow her to turn back.
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Acceptance Essays
