The Breakdown of Relationships in Kate Chopin's Selected Short Stories

Essay by babyjohn122High School, 12th gradeB+, May 2004

download word file, 12 pages 4.0

A relationship is a means of interactions with the other person as two complete individuals coming together to share experiences. In the "The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin" by Kate Chopin there are relationships that are difficult to apprehend, and in that, they contain many problems which may or may not lead to their failure. Some relationships fail, some succeed, and some just seem to limp along somewhere in between. Why relationships fail or succeed may seem like a great mystery to those involved. The factors in the short stories of Kate Chopin, "The Kiss", "The Story of an Hour", and "The Storm", do in fact lead to the failure of relationships. When coming together in a relationship, husbands and wives usually develop their own natural, human plan for marital happiness. The couple's separate plans are based on the unique personalities and personal differences of each partner, including different family influences, role models, books, and often-different church experiences.

Because their plans for marriage happiness are different, conflict usually results. By examining the factors that contributed to the failure of relationships in the short stories, it will become evident that relationships do tend to fail.

In the late 1800's, marriage was comparable to a master-and-slave relationship. The role of the woman in the marriage was minimal. The woman's place was in the house, caring for the children, cleaning the house, and doing other "womanly" tasks. Chained to their husbands, marriage became prison to many women; the only means of breaking free from these bonds being the death of a husband. In Kate Chopin's fictional short stories, "The Story of an Hour," and "The Strom," show examples of the lack of freedom for women's role in society. Mrs. Mallard lives for an hour, experiencing rebirth into...