Marital Relationships as Portrayed in the Short Stories I'm Going and The Story of an Hour
Love As A Battlefield
Love has always been complicated. Whether you were married in 1700 or 2012, there are many things we'll just never understand. But what if you were married in the late 1800's to the early 1900's? I believe Mrs. Louise Mallard and Jeanne can both agree that it was not easy. The short story “The Story of An Hour” and the drama “I'm Going” will show that being a wife in that era was not all about passion and perfect families, but about control and dominance. Although the stories were written during two different time periods, the modern period and the Victorian period, there were still many similarities in both relationships. Each story centered itself around a woman taking a “backseat” to her husband. The difference between these pieces of literature were the styles used to convey the message. “I'm Going” by Tristan Bernard was written as a comedy, while “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin was written as a tragedy. The plots of the stories were also different. “I'm Going” used a plot that grabbed the readers attention through what was happening, while “The Story of An Hour” developed the plot by what was being revealed. The drama by Tristan Bernard, “I'm Going”, was about a man and wife who were having a disagreement about the man (Henri) who wanted to go out to the horse races but did not want to take his wife. Throughout the drama Henri and his wife Jeanne argued back and forth about who was going to go out and enjoy the day, even either of them, and essentially turned into a power struggle between man and wife. At first, Jeanne wanted to go to the races with her husband but he objected. After she finally realized that she was not invited, she then got upset and did not want Henri to go to the races at all. After some arguing and a lot of “tit for tat” Jeanne decides that Henri should go to the races and that she will go out to send a telegram to her friend Juliette. But no! Once
Love has always been complicated. Whether you were married in 1700 or 2012, there are many things we'll just never understand. But what if you were married in the late 1800's to the early 1900's? I believe Mrs. Louise Mallard and Jeanne can both agree that it was not easy. The short story “The Story of An Hour” and the drama “I'm Going” will show that being a wife in that era was not all about passion and perfect families, but about control and dominance. Although the stories were written during two different time periods, the modern period and the Victorian period, there were still many similarities in both relationships. Each story centered itself around a woman taking a “backseat” to her husband. The difference between these pieces of literature were the styles used to convey the message. “I'm Going” by Tristan Bernard was written as a comedy, while “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin was written as a tragedy. The plots of the stories were also different. “I'm Going” used a plot that grabbed the readers attention through what was happening, while “The Story of An Hour” developed the plot by what was being revealed. The drama by Tristan Bernard, “I'm Going”, was about a man and wife who were having a disagreement about the man (Henri) who wanted to go out to the horse races but did not want to take his wife. Throughout the drama Henri and his wife Jeanne argued back and forth about who was going to go out and enjoy the day, even either of them, and essentially turned into a power struggle between man and wife. At first, Jeanne wanted to go to the races with her husband but he objected. After she finally realized that she was not invited, she then got upset and did not want Henri to go to the races at all. After some arguing and a lot of “tit for tat” Jeanne decides that Henri should go to the races and that she will go out to send a telegram to her friend Juliette. But no! Once
References: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/modern_history Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey Into Literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books