Womens Roles in Silkos Yellow Woman and Chopins The Story of an Hour :: comparison compare contrast essays

Women's Roles in Silko's Yellow Woman and Chopin's The Story of an Hour "Yellow Woman" describes a short episode from the life of a young woman. She leaves her home just for a few days and follows her beloved, whom she doesn't know well. However, afterwards she decides to come back home, to her family: husband, baby and relatives. This story may look superficial, but is contains deeper meaning, and truths about roles of women, traditional patriarchal society, and attitudes toward feminism. "Yellow Woman" shows the role of a woman in a traditional, average family; narrator is a married young female raising a baby and living together with parents and grandparents. We may assume that she doesn't work, and women in her family traditionally do not work. They are rather supposed to raise children and deal with housework; men are the ones who are responsible for financial matters, and "important" things. What is more the role of a woman in this family is rather under appreciated and minor, not even visible. After the narrator leaves her home she says: "There are enough of them to handle things. My mother and grandmother will raise the baby as they raised me. Al will find someone else"(Silko, 191). Another example of a patriarchal society may be found in a scene when a rancher captures her beloved - Silva. No one pays attention to her, or to what will happen to her; men only are allowed to deal with important issues such as crime, and responsibility. In this story male's and f emale's worlds are strongly separated. In the second essay "The Story of an Hour" female's situation looks very similar. Lousie, starts considering her marriage as a burden, and she feels free when she gets to know about her husband's death. It is difficult to understand her reaction, since the story doesn't say about problems in her marriage. Readers may think that she feels overwhelmed with her everyday life of (stay-at-home) wife, dependence upon Brently, his decisions, and maybe dominance. She is probably disappointed with a reality, and she is subconsciously looking for a chance to break free form the male's world. Women in both essays experiences some conflicts related to their roles in a society. Narrator of a first story initially decides to leave her family and neglects her family obligations, but then she comes back, the feeling of responsibility is stronger. Lousie's inside conflict is not so visible, but more subtle; initially she hesitates how to determine her own feelings.