Introduction
Short stories are often used to convey many interesting facts about humanity’s life, past customs, and other unusual moments. Kate Chopin’s short stories are evidence that literature reflects the culture of the time in which it was created. The stories provide a deeper understanding of the situation and shed light on how society has put the individual desires of women on the back burner. The plot describes the complexity of the interaction between the personal wishes of the female sex and the expectations imposed by a community willing to limit autonomy.
Through these literary works, the reader can get a complete picture of how women fought for their rights at the end of the 19th century. The story features episodes of women from different social backgrounds struggling with existing social rules that were imposed on them. Chopin used literary techniques such as metaphors, personification, and symbolism to depict the problems faced by women and managed to reflect the weight of women’s fate and resilience in the struggle for freedom.
Women’s Struggle Against the System in the 19th Century
In Chopin’s short stories, the reader can notice how the author describes the difficulties women faced in 19th-century society. The claim about the brutal fate of women at that time was invalid, as their lives were indeed governed by the community in which they lived, and they had no choice.
“The Story of an Hour”
“The Story of an Hour” depicts the fate of Mrs. Mallard, whose behavior is entirely amenable to social control (Chopin, 1894). The woman has always aspired for freedom, and the author emphasizes how depressing the climate of expectation for improvement was. This story highlights once again the limitations that made women portray joy at a time when they were striving for personal realization and not content with their lives (Han). Chopin tries to describe the story in a way that reflects women’s true aspirations and thoughts regarding their social position.
“The Storm”
With regard to “The Storm,” the author also researched the problems that affected women in their attempts to be perfect for society at the time. The story involves vivid images and precise symbols demonstrating how problematic it was to show women’s emotions at the end of the 19th Century (Zhang). Society has been posing a fundamental moral challenge to the female population, as if it were testing them. The protagonist is Calixta, who is assigned the role of mother and wife but also describes her desire to become a free person with an opinion (Chopin, 1898). Unfortunately, social demands ultimately win by preventing a woman from becoming the person she wants.
Examining the internal struggle in these two stories provides a deep insight into the magnitude of the problems. Women faced severe restrictions on their freedom because of the rules that were imposed on them. The study of this struggle reflects the difficulty of the dynamics between what the individual desired and what the public demanded in the late 19th Century, preventing people from developing.
Emotions and Society
“The Story of an Hour”
In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin masterfully uses symbols and images to portray public emotion. Symbolism plays a decisive role in this text, one example of which is the open window in the plot (Chopin, 1894). This object reflects the possibility of emancipation from the bonds of marriage and social constraints, as well as the desire of the female sex to gain autonomy and express their real emotions. This image can also be interpreted as a contrast between the limited environment of the house and the freedom of the outside world, which Mrs. Mallard was never able to penetrate fully. The images further enhance the author’s vivid and full transmission of emotions.
Chopin describes nature and the rest of the world as opposed to the oppressive domestic environment in which women were held hostage to social expectations at the time. An example is the image of patches of blue sky, which can be described as a small hope of emotional release from imprisonment (Chopin, 1894). This image reflects the desire for emotional freedom and the lifting of those restrictions that assume compliance with social rules.
“The Storm”
In “The Storm,” the author uses literary elements of symbolism and imagery, allowing a more vivid reflection of the prevalent emotions in 19th-century society. The title serves as a metaphor that reflects the repressed desires and ambitions of the women who have carried them out throughout the story (Zhang). The vivid depiction of these emotions makes it possible to declare their presence as a storm passed through society in this historical period. This object can be called the story’s main symbol, revealing the basic idea that the author wanted to convey to the reader. Using these literary elements of the composition, Chopin beautifully describes the limitations that society has set for women who do not wish to think stereotypically.
Gender Roles
“The Story of an Hour”
In “The Story of an Hour,” gender roles are portrayed quite vividly, and the author reveals the expectations placed on women in the late 19th Century. Chopin used personifications and imagery in the story’s narrative to highlight the limitations imposed at the time. The author was able to accurately emphasize the lack of freedom of action of the female sex and the difficulties of women’s struggle for autonomy in their roles as mothers and wives (Hassan and Tayib).
In the context of Mrs. Mallard’s internal conflict, the author makes it clear that her personal desires do not meet public expectations, and it is clear to the reader that people’s emotions are contradictory. Using literary personification, the author demonstrates a significant difference between the standard of living of women and men. While the former had no right to live as they wished, the latter often dictated the rules of life for everyone, regardless of gender. The female sex was subjected to constant control and restrictions of freedom, so women constantly felt a sense of grief and despair, or relief from the space gained at some point.
“The Storm”
“The Storm” also highlights the gender roles that prevailed in the 19th Century. Chopin describes the social expectations present in society at the time, which treated women as servants and nannies. Furthermore, through personification, the author emphasizes the existence of double standards imposed on women throughout their lives. The male characters in the story are depicted as dominant, as is the story of “The Story of an Hour” (Chopin, 1898; Chopin, 1894).
At the same time, women’s roles are those who constantly have difficulty complying with the society in which they live, and do not have the right to behave differently. Those women who sought personal fulfillment faced incredible pressure from others, so the population neither encouraged nor suppressed these aspirations. This statement is evidence of why women experienced a real emotional storm inside. Trying to get some freedom, they were willing to do anything, and the feeling of helplessness was literally killing them from the inside out. Thus, this symbol fits well to describe gender roles in relation to the female population.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Kate Chopin’s short stories “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” are valuable sources of information about women’s inner struggle for independence in the late 19th century. In the course of the story, the author was able to use various literary elements that made the description even more vivid and understandable to the reader. During the plot development, Chopin was able to use both symbolism and the representation of bright images and personification, which allowed them to accurately depict the internal conflicts of the main characters.
Women were subjected to emotional restraints in various social provisions, which resulted from the fact that people had to fight for their freedom. The study of Kate Chopin’s work helps to understand the problems of this historical period. This story is a testament to the fact that these events must not be forgotten, and we must strive to make society better and more accessible every year, without forgetting past mistakes.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Storm.” The Awakening and Selected Short Stories, 1898, edited by Bernard Koloski, Bedford/St. Martin’s, pp. 53-62.
“The Story of an Hour.” The Awakening and Selected Short Stories, 1894, edited by Bernard Koloski, Bedford/St. Martin’s, pp. 3-7.
Han, Wenjie. “The Story of an Hour: A Text Kidnapped by Feminist Criticism.” European Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, vol. 1, no. 2, 2023, pp. 66–71.
Hassan, Hazha S., and Chinar K. Tayib. “Irony in Kate Chopin’s Selected Short Stories.” Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 1, 2020, pp. 137–144.
Zhang, Xia. “Resistance to Phallogocentrism in The Storm by Women’s Writing.” International Journal of Education and Humanities, vol. 4, no. 3, 2022, pp. 102–103.