Compare and Contrast - Story of an Hour and Astronomers Wife

Compare and Contrast Story of an Hour and Astronomers Wife It is a very difficult task for women to live a content life while in a despondent marriage. Though it has been done, it is simply no easy task. In the short stories Story of an hour, and Astronomers Wife Kate Chopin and Kay Boyle both suggests to their readers that a woman needs a man to connect with her physically to be happy. The two stories both share the thesis that women are being held back by their husbands and there is plenty of evidence to prove this. With Chopins story taking place in the 50s, and Boyles story taking place at the turn of the century, they encounter parallel situations with a time difference of almost 50 years. If we compare the†¦show more content†¦In Story of an Hour, we begin with the climatic event, the news of her husbands death. Mrs. Mallard has heart problems so when her sister Josephine attempted to break the news to her; she tried to break it as gently as possible. Mrs. Mallard first seems to be in pain by going to her room and sitting in her armchair near the window while sobbing like a child. After a few moments, she begins to repeat the word free. This is one of the turning points in the story. We now realize that shes not in sorrow, but in glee that her husband is dead. She is now free; free from her unhappy relationship. Chopin now surprises everyone with another turning point. The husband walks in through the front door. He was alive, far from dead. As soon as Mrs. Mallard sees her husband, she collapses to the floor. The doctor claims that she died of a heart disease, but ironically the truth is, she died of despair. She was so glad that she was free, and then it all seemed to be a fantasy. It turned out that she wasnt free, and her heart couldnt take the pain to keep living in a suppressed relationship. She may just be better of dead although she did want a new life. Depending on how one looks at it, one may still argue that she was free in the end...free through death. In Astronomers Wife, we begin with the rising action as Mrs. Ames awakens from her bed. She doesnt love her husband because hes always wandering