This essay explores a cultural issue which is gender roles in marriage, represented in the
works of Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour”,
in terms of gender stereotypes, oppression, and the feeling that both wives harbour towards
their husbands.

Both stories took place during the 1800s when men used to play a dominant role over the
woman. The main characters in both stories desire a better life and fight to attain it their way.
At that time, men and women were thought to be fundamentally different. The men
controlled the marriage since they were seen as strong, logical, and independent, whereas
women were seen as fragile, emotional and weak. Hence, they were expected only to stay
home and care for the family and the housework. They were not even allowed to vote or earn
their own money. As a result, awareness of gender roles and the oppression of women
initially gained attention in literary works during the eighteenth century.

 Stereotypes are broad generalizations about groups that lack justification or supporting
evidence. “give quotation+reference” Childish language and gender stereotypes
characterize Mathilde in the story of “The Necklace”. For instance, Mathilde is described as
“dressed simply, unable to adorn herself” by the author. Her “simple” resources and lack of
independence indicate that Mathilde cannot care for herself. Mathilde is shown in De
Maupassant’s writing as being needy and dissatisfied with her lifestyle, which is justified by
her wearing expensive jewellery and clothing. It’s essential to note that her spouse, who
belongs to the same socioeconomic group as her, is not the main focus of this statement in the
story.

 “The Story of an Hour” has different points about the stereotypes of the man and the woman.
In the story, men and women are shown to have different roles. The woman is meant to stay
home, cook dinner, and clean the house, while the man should be the breadwinner. The man
is meant to be in control and dominate the woman. In the story, there is a gender stereotype
about how a man should treat a woman and how a woman should behave. For example, after
the death of their husband, the woman was expected to be crying and heartbroken.
However, she “who?” was pleased that her husband had died since she felt free and had
control now and couldn’t be stereotyped by society as her husband died.
“The Necklace” is a short story that heavily emphasizes oppression. It is a narrative of a
woman who is first oppressed by unrealistic expectations of herself and later oppressed by the
poverty that arises from her attempts to realize those expectations. She suffers from the
oppression of her dreams (the oppression she places on herself) and the oppression of poverty
(the oppression brought on by the circumstances of her life). Because of her insatiable desire
to live out her fantasies, Matilda borrows the necklace in the first place, rushes out of the
party because she feels embarrassed about her wrap, drops the necklace in the process, and
thus damns herself to ten years of needless destitution. She suffers from both her own
oppression and the oppression that life imposes on her; the second sort of oppression directly
results from the first.

In “The Story of an Hour”, the author concentrates on the oppression women faced due to
their marriages to men in the late 19th century. “The Story of an Hour” effectively conveys a
woman’s yearning to break free from the limitations of an oppressive marriage. Louise
Mallard is a very fragile woman who is dominated by her husband; hence she desires
freedom. When she learned about the death of her husband, she realized her freedom and
started daydreaming about “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would
be her own”. The author’s use of this language indicates that Mrs Mallard formerly believed
her days belonged to either her husband or their marriage. She had little time for herself
because the only thing that mattered was maintaining her marriage, even if she wasn’t
genuinely in love with her spouse. The oppression that women experience in a marriage is
illustrated by the author in “The Story of an Hour” through knowledge of the restricted
happiness of independence and the unavoidable responsibilities of marriage between women
and men.

In terms of the feelings wives harboured towards their husbands. In the story of “The
Necklace”, The husband is shown to be an ambitious and visionary man, yet even with all
these qualities, his wife still feels like he is missing out on something. Since Mathilde Loisel
was born into a family of artisans, which seemed to be a mistake of fate, Mathilde was never
satisfied in her early married life. She aspired to do great things and to be able to interact with
members of high society, believing she was destined to enjoy all of life’s luxuries. It is
apparent that she wished she could have married a rich and socially advantaged man rather
than just a low-paid clerk.” The author states that “she had let herself be married off to a little
clerk”. This is reflected in her happiness while dancing with her husband’s superiors at the
event while wearing a fancy gown and a borrowed necklace—Mathilde Loisel is unhappy
with her husband because of her unfulfilled desire for luxury and elegance.

As for the wife’s feelings towards her husband in “The Story of an Hour”, it effectively
conveys a woman’s yearning to leave her marriage. She was visibly upset and grieving when
she learned of her husband’s passing at the story’s opening. She did, however, experience a
sense of freedom throughout her body and soul. When she entered her room and sat in the
armchair, her “physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul”
(as cited by Clugston, 2010) was an obvious sign that she most likely felt imprisoned. After
she has calmed down, she is overcome with joy since she now has what she constantly
desires: independence and freedom from her spouse. Louise Mallard knew she would live for
herself over the coming years, not for someone else. This mirrors the feelings she had
towards her husband.