The Two Main Characters Louise Mallard and Emily Grierson Are Both Similar and Dissimilar.
A compare and contrast Essay
In the short stories Story of an Hour and A Rose for Emily, the two main characters Louise Mallard and Emily Grierson are both similar and dissimilar. These two characters lived in similar ideological societies and they shared a similar pattern of development. But also they differed in their goals and how they thought they could achieve their goals.
First, Emily Grierson and Louise Mallard both shared a common shackle, the society in which they lived. Both Emily and Louise were women, and they both lived in times where society defined them by their male counterparts. The expectations of women in those days were cooking, cleaning, dining, other household chores. Women were also expected to be married in their middle ages. In a Rose for Emily, the narrator says that the town was not pleased when Emily turned thirty and she still wasn’t married. Louise was bonded in marriage, and Emile was bonded in solitude. Louise felt that her husband’s powerful will was bending her own. A man was seen traditionally as the provider of a household, and a woman was to be the housekeeper. This is evident in A Rose for Emily wherein a group of women who were observing the fact that Tobe was keeping the Grierson house made the comment “Just as if a man—any man—could keep a kitchen properly.” The comment was directed at men in general and it reinforced the idea that men had their place in society and women had theirs.
Second, in the way that the characters Louise Mallard and Emily Grierson are similar is their development throughout the story. In the beginning of both stories it was clear that both women were unhappy. Louise Mallard was initially unhappy with her life as an ordinary housewife; but after hearing the news of her husband’s death and spending time away from everything in her room, she underwent a transformation. Before her untimely death, she had reached a stage of serene and resolve. Her grief quickly turned into joy and excitement
In the short stories Story of an Hour and A Rose for Emily, the two main characters Louise Mallard and Emily Grierson are both similar and dissimilar. These two characters lived in similar ideological societies and they shared a similar pattern of development. But also they differed in their goals and how they thought they could achieve their goals.
First, Emily Grierson and Louise Mallard both shared a common shackle, the society in which they lived. Both Emily and Louise were women, and they both lived in times where society defined them by their male counterparts. The expectations of women in those days were cooking, cleaning, dining, other household chores. Women were also expected to be married in their middle ages. In a Rose for Emily, the narrator says that the town was not pleased when Emily turned thirty and she still wasn’t married. Louise was bonded in marriage, and Emile was bonded in solitude. Louise felt that her husband’s powerful will was bending her own. A man was seen traditionally as the provider of a household, and a woman was to be the housekeeper. This is evident in A Rose for Emily wherein a group of women who were observing the fact that Tobe was keeping the Grierson house made the comment “Just as if a man—any man—could keep a kitchen properly.” The comment was directed at men in general and it reinforced the idea that men had their place in society and women had theirs.
Second, in the way that the characters Louise Mallard and Emily Grierson are similar is their development throughout the story. In the beginning of both stories it was clear that both women were unhappy. Louise Mallard was initially unhappy with her life as an ordinary housewife; but after hearing the news of her husband’s death and spending time away from everything in her room, she underwent a transformation. Before her untimely death, she had reached a stage of serene and resolve. Her grief quickly turned into joy and excitement