Comparative Essay

Mrs . Penn and Mrs . Mallard , Two Wives in Two Short Stories

A Comparison

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The traditional notion of being a wife means a woman who is obligated to obey her husband 's wishes . Although it is not already true in many societies today , traditional roles imposed upon the married woman , have stifled and repressed many women in the past . There are times therefore , when in spite the strict control those social rules have had upon the female consciousness , some women were driven by the need to liberate themselves and

their acts had varied consequences . The wife-character Mrs . Penn in Mary E . Wilkins Freeman 's The Revolt of Mother and Mrs . Mallard in Kate Chopin 's Story of an Hour show two different consequences resulting from the act of attempting to free themselves from the socially- and self-imposed restrictions by virtue of their sex

Mrs . Penn is a farmer 's wife . One day her husband builds a barn over a space of land where he promised to build her a house forty years ago This agitates her but she knows her place than to complain and tell her husband to stop . She confronts her husband once but simply gives up when he ignores her pleas . She does not back down , however . Instead , she devices a plan to revolt against her husband in a way that is subtle and non-violent yet effective : when her husband goes away for a short trip she moves all their house things over to the new...