The author's of the stories "The Necklace" and "The Story of an Hour" use ordinary settings and events to help contrast the distinct individualism of their characters. By presenting an everyday occurrence to the audience, Kate Chopin and Guy de Maupassant are able to better illustrate their characters' individuality in a way the reader can easily relate to. In this way the reader is able to compare the situation to their own life and fully understand the uniqueness of the character's actions. In "The Story of an Hour," Mrs. Mallard clearly handles the death of a loved one in a way most would not, especially is such a short period of time. By doing this she is given a glimpse of what it is like to be her own person and learns that a moment of this is better than a lifetime without it. On the contrary, Mme. Louisel in "The Necklace" is forced to live a life she's always dreaded after an evening she had only dreamt about to fully appreciate anything at all. This is the price she is forced to pay for letting objects and other's opinions rule her life instead of doing what really makes her happy. In just these two stories the author's demonstrate the terrible consequences of living a life ruled by forces other than one's self.
             Mrs. Mallard, in "The Story of an Hour," has led a life entirely for someone else. Up to the point of her husband's death she has never made a decision for herself based on her own happiness. Chopin uses the alleged death of Mr. Mallard as a tool to show the audience how desperate this woman is to possess her own free will, "There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will up on a fellow creature." When most would immediately mourn the loss of a loved one, Mrs. Mallard rejoiced at
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