Louise Mallard vs. Eveline Calm, careful, and trapped, three adjectives that could describe the two women in these short stories. “Eveline’ by James Joyce is the story of a woman who struggles with the idea of leaving her family and going off to live with her future husband Frank. She says, “Then she would be married – she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. ” Throughout the short story Eveline goes through changes, in the beginning she is rash and emotional, but by the end of the story she hides her emotions as if she is paralyzed.
Louise Mallard is the main character in the short story “The Story of the Hour,” by Kate Chopin. Louise fells trapped by her husband for the most part of the story , but as in Eveline, Mrs. Mallard holds her emotions well, as she is a strong, inner strengthen type of woman. In the beginning of the story Louise is repressed, but cant leave because during the time period it is the woman’s duties are to work in the house. In these story’s both character’s demonstrate a similar struggle of freedom, not only from their husbands but from societies standards during the time period.
Both woman fell trapped in their home’s dreaming about escaping from so called traditional household duties. Eveline is a women of working class, and she looks at working hard as a chance for a better life. Though Eveline works hard she has an internal conflict with herself on whether she should stay with her family or go marry Frank and live a better life. Eveline fells a devotion to her family, because she promised her dead mother to keep the family together. Yet, Eveline isn’t happy with her job nor is she satisfied with the traditional duties her father sets out for her.
In the beginning Eveline dreams about what it would be like to go off and start this new life with Frank, “ It was hard work — a hard life — but now that she was about to leave it, she did not find it a wholly undesirable life. She was about to explore another life with Frank. ” (Joyce 2) Eveline also has a slight external conflict with society. During the time period in which the short story takes place it is frond upon for a women to leave her family and not tend to the house.
She struggles in that she wants to get out and start a new life, but societies standards are holding her back from ever becoming capable of taking that opportunity. In the end she decides to not chose between Frank and Fate, she instead settled back into the life she had known all her life. Louise Mallard is a middle class woman who feels trapped by her husband and the lifestyle she lives. Louise has a conflict within herself in that she wants to leave her husband. Her motivation is to be able to be herself and live her own life, not to do what a man or society tells her she should do.
Louise also has a external conflict in that she can not obtain a job , because during the time period no one would hire a woman. During the story Lousie finds out her husband is dead. After some tears Louise becomes content, because she can now see the new- found freedom from her husband. She says, “Free! Free! Free! ” (Chopin 72) She all the sudden realizes her freedom and liberation has been achieved. In both stories Eveline and Lousie Mallard have ironic similarities aswell as differences.
A clear differnce is that Mrs. Mallard is married, and Eveline is not. Another difference is that while Mrs. Mallard is pursuing a new life, Eveline is deeply scared of the unknown. Similarities are that both woman are seeking liberation and freedom. Yet, neither obtain their goal in the exact way the had thought. The character’s in these short stories both share the same internal conflict with them selves, as well as the same external conflict with societies view of how a woman should live during this time period.
He idea that a woman should not be able to leave the house and go out and pursue her dream is something unheard of in modern society. Eveline and Lousie Mallard are two woman who were surpressed by their setting.
Works citied
- James Joyce. “Eveline”. Literature the human experience.
- Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Samuel Cohen. 10th ed. Boston, NewYork.
- Kate Chopin. “ The Story of an Hour”. Literature the human experience.
- Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Samuel Cohen. 10th ed. Boston, NewYork.
