The Yellow Wallpaper is related to the Story of an Hour in many instances. The two stories represent women characters who are oppressed in some ways by external forces that they are struggling hard to overcome. The themes of the two stories ware much hidden under symbolisms portray man as the source of these external forces leading to oppression in that, men have presented the characters as weak sex and are the cause of all their sufferings.
In The Story of an Hour , Mrs. Mallard’s problems begin when she hears about the death of her husband. Mallard suffers a heart attack and dies on receiving this news about the death of her husband but lacks enough evidence to support the real cause of the demise. On the other hand, the story of The Yellow Wallpaper is about a woman named Jane is bedridden as she is depressed. In the mansion where she is, she sees a woman under the wallpaper whom she eventually believes was not herself (Gilman 1991). In the two stories, both women appear to struggle alone to get freedom and recover from their situations. For example, Mallard’s sister tries to prevent Louise from accessing news and more so, from thinking about her condition. Besides, the other story portrays a sister-in-law brings the character doctor’s prescriptions concerning her restrictions.
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Both women are confined, and they perceive outside as their freedom. Mallard feels relieved when she looks through a window and feels relieved on hearing the birds singing and seeing the blue skies. In the other story, the same case happens when the narrator talks of the flowers in the garden outside her room but she cannot access the garden since the window is barred. She likens her situation in a symbolism where she sees a woman trapped underneath wallpaper, and this confinement is the kind of trap she refers. Additionally, both characters in the two stories acquire their freedom at the end by use of different methods. Therefore, the two stories are related in various ways, and the characters share a lot in common concerning their freedom and conditions.
The two characters in several instances demonstrate the sense of imprisonment. Firstly, both characters are deprived of the freedom of interacting with the outside environment. This repression is achieved by confining them in a room where they cannot see outside. Another form of imprisonment portrayed by men is evidenced by the way they treat these women as inferior and weak individuals. This treatment and the way nature forces them to believe that men are superior associate with their predicaments. More so, these characters are demonstrated as slaves through neglect by the family members. They are ignored by their relatives who also does not offer the right support. Therefore, the sense of imprisonment is demonstrated in many instances of the two stories.
References
Gilman, C. P. (1991). The living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman: an autobiography . Univ of Wisconsin Press.
