Comparison Essay

The Painted Door by Sinclair Ross is about a couple that has been married for 7 years, in which, they’ve lived on an isolated farm. The wife Anne seeks change in her boring life resulting in her committing adultery. Later in the story Anne comes to the realization that she’s truly in love with John but it didn’t matter because John had witnessed her sin. John is announced dead because while walking away from his home in dismay he froze to death. In comparison, Behind the Headlines by Vidyut Akulujkar the wife Lakshmi is tired of her repetitive life style which is cause by her husband Hariharan who was a “[]promised professor of economics in a respectable Canadian university.”(pg139) The couple were immigrants from India therefore they carried on a traditional marriage. Shortly after Hariharan leaves to a work conference his wife Lakshmi dropped her house keys into the mail slot showing that she was not coming back to him. These two short stories are similar in the aspects of conflict, plot, and characterization.
The main conflict in both stories is an internal struggle in which the protagonists Anne and Laksmi suffer. Although their marriages appeared successful from a bystander’s point of view the reality was the complete opposite. “Their tracks ran parallel, without any hope of intersection.”(pg142) This quote from Behind the Headlines gives the reader a solid image of what their marriages are like. In comparison, The Painted Door consists of a similar quote “Pay no attention to me. Seven years a farmer’s wife—it’s time I was used to staying alone.”(pg226) The reason these marriages weren’t working wasn’t because the love was nonexistent it was because of the dull repetitive life styles they endured due to their husbands professions. Both protagonists seek change in their marriages concluding in both of them turning away from their present husbands.
Furthermore, the short stories both include couples who have been married for a long period...
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