This account informs the reader that not only was it hard for women to have a say in their own lives but even having a say was probably casted as a privilege; Mrs. Mallard herself, most likely dies in devastation of her hopes and dreams being crushed in an instant, because she wanted to be able to take a step into the world with objective and see it for herself, instead of the world being shown to her, and when Mr. Mallard walks in through those doors she realizes that her dreams will always remain as nothing but dreams.
Nevertheless, contrasted by ‘Story of an Hour’ is ‘Turned.’ Turned is the most recent out of the three books, and the story line is furthermost modernized. This story depicts how woman are as equal to men; they are able to vote; have a say in marriage and are basically capable of their own lives. The tale literally points out, how the social order regarding the rights for woman, have turned over generations, considering it’s title- ‘Turned.’ This yarn is essentially focused on how strong a woman is psychologically and mentally when she is affected through her husbands’ actions in an heart-rending affair. I state this because Mrs. Mariner is a woman of great intellect and understandable judgement in the story; she finds the essence inside her, to forgive her husbands’ misdeeds (affair) with a servant girl known as Gerta.
I believe Mrs. Mariner’s purpose for forgiving Mr. Mariner wasn’t because she felt she had to, but for the reason that she somehow knew, her husband still loved her, and well needed her. Despite the fact that Mr. Mariner did have sexual intercourse with Gerta, does not mean he didn’t feel affectionately for his wife. Though it may appear to be peculiar, on the contrary it’s not impossible to love more than one person. I think that in Mr. Mariner’s situation it was more to do with timing, as mistakes can be made; just because he sleeps with Gerta in the tale, it doesn’t mean he was deeply infatuated with her, let alone in love with her.
If you think about it in the significance of loving more than one family member, it becomes a lot easier to understand. As individuals we love our families and friends that surround us day in and day out, and even though we sometimes love one person more than the other, the fact is that at the end of the day you still show some sort of affection and care towards the people around you, which is also a form of love. I think this was the case for Mr. Mariner; he was enkindled with himself and couldn’t separate his feelings from reality itself.
In distinction to both ‘story of an Hour’ and ‘Turned’ is Charlotte Bronte’s liaison of ‘Jane Eyre.’ Jane Eyre is a novel overflowing with description, and a story written a way head of it’s time. The connection of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester is a relationship full of passion and excitement. The bond between the two characters is exceedingly spontaneous and impulsive, but in a good way. It just seems as if the story is coming to life, as it written in the first person and it creates a broad horizon so you can visualize the settings and atmosphere of where everything is happening.
I adore Jane Eyre’s role, as it’s so strong and well developed throughout the book; it’s more amusing because this character had been created well over a hundred years ago and to think people can still relate to it nowadays. Jane Eyre’s sense of standing up for woman’s rights is represented very precisely; a quote to back this up is “You have a curious, designing mind, Mr. Rochester. I am afraid your principles on some points are eccentric.”
This line states that even when loving Mr. Rochester she doesn’t let go of her beliefs for standing up to what’s wrong and what’s right. It’s almost as if she’s laughing at Mr. Rochester’s way of thoughts. (It’s highly standard of Jane Eyre)
All three women can be distinguished separately with their own ambitions, opinions, weaknesses and vulnerabilities, although I think the characters of Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Mariner somewhat fit into Jane Eyre’s character without a doubt. I believe that Mrs. Mallard is a part of Jane Eyre’s childhood years, because even though they both differentiate in age, they both seem to be locked up in a house with certain rules and regulations, whining to get free. A comparison of this is when Mrs. Mallard looses her power of being free and passing away in shock, and when Jane is locked up in the red room and she lets her imagination get the better of her, a line to represent this is “Miss Jane screamed so loud ma’am.” This leads her into a traumatic mind disorder and her ultimately fainting. (Even when Jane was screaming on top of her lungs, she was still treated as she was invisible; this might possibly be the way Mrs. Mallard was treated previous to the story’s opening.)
Mrs. Mariner is moreover Jane Eyre’s adolescence and matured years. As Jane becomes competent to make her own decisions and stand by the means of her political views on women she does make a sacrifice’s and her prime surrender would be when she leaves Mr. Rochester. You can relate this into Mrs. Mariner’s situation because when she finds out about her husbands affairs, she becomes angry, (but still loves him a lot) and does what a woman should do instead of standing back and not having a say in relation to it, like ladies would, in the 19th & 20th century.
Mrs. Mallard, Mrs. Mariner and Jane Eyre all loved their husbands and devoted themselves to a certain extent, however I would say that Mrs. Mallard was the weakest emotionally as she bottled herself up to much, whereas Mrs. Mariner and Jane Eyre where a lot more open resulting them into more of a free will.
‘Turned’ and especially, ‘Jane Eyre’ are linked to feminist issues very strongly as is ‘Story of an Hour.’ (It is based on feminism but it’s not as intense. It only shows us how women were compressed during the Victorian era and not how they rise.) Many people say authors such as Perkins Gilman and Charlotte Bronte are feminists, but this it self is not true. Just because both ladies write about the truths on how woman are dealt with in the time periods of 19th century and 20th century and even now, it automatically appears to get judged as feminism.
I myself think that between men and woman there are very few differences, yet many men like to think that they’re classed far superior to woman. This is the attitude that leads to a book or an author being called feminist, as men think, that it is wrong for woman to be saying or even writing things that deal with these subject matters. (In a way they can’t handle the truth. It may sound a bit sexist of me to be saying it, but I think that is the actual reality.)
In conclusion, through thoroughly examining all three stories, I think its fine judgement to say that no; none of these authors and characters were feminists and that they succeeded in history to take a small step for woman’s rights and place them in the right position for gaining freedom and independence. By breaking the barriers of partial and prejudiced laws, womankind have been able to take a leap into the future, have a say, and that’s why we are where we are today.
