Freedom is a state in which persons can make their own choices without restrictions from
anywhere. Freedom is important for a person to achieve their goals in life. However, unlimited
freedom can also be detrimental to the individual, other people around them or society. Thus, the
many laws put in place to govern the degree of freedom that individuals in a society or a circle
enjoy. Freedom applies and varies from different aspects of life, such as politically, religiously,
socially and personally. In the early nineteenth century, women had no freedom in society,
especially in the institution of marriage. The men controlled everything their wives did or said.
In the two short stories, The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour, women face oppression
from their husbands as they deny their wives freedom. This paper thus, discusses how women
suffer for lack of freedom from their spouses.
Women lack freedom of movement. The women in the two stories are so dependent on their
husbands, who make all their decisions. They, however, secretly wish and long for freedom. In
The Story of an Hour, Mrs Mullard has a heart condition so she stays at home as per her
husband's directives. The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper also has no freedom to move from
one place to another. Her husband confines her in a big room with rails on the windows all day
long. "There are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the
gardeners and people. (Gilman 119). She expresses her desire to stay in a room downstairs, but
her plea goes unanswered. Jane, the narrator, suffers from the confinement in the room upstairs.
The room has terrible wallpaper, and nothing impresses her in it, so she prefers staying in one of
the pretty rooms downstairs. Her husband's refusal to shift rooms for her shows how he
controlled Jane's movement, yet he had the freedom to go out all day, and as a result, her
condition worsens because of the state of the room upstairs.
The husbands deny their wives freedom and the right to extend their maternal wings. Jane and
John had a baby, but unfortunately, Jane had no rights and freedom to bond with her baby. John
argues that it is not favorable, so everything that pertains to the baby is Mary's (John's sister)
responsibility. "It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot
be with him, it makes me so nervous" (Gilman, 649). John has labeled Jane 'a mental patient'
who is not capable of taking care of herself, let alone take care of a baby. Ironically, exempting
Jane from her duties as a woman in society does not make her better, as John stated. She gets
worse and eventually loses her sanity completely. No mother would retain a sober mind away
from her child. Jane sees her room as a nursery where her child would stay. It is a natural instinct
of a mother to care for her child.
Women do not have freedom of expression. In marriage, women had no freedom to express their
opinions. Their husbands treated them like children who had no mind to make decisions, let
alone voice them. When Jane tries to talk to John, he shuts her, calling her child and telling her to
go back to sleep. He also tells her to stop thinking rest her condition worsens. The worst of it is
when she tries to explain to both her husband and her brother, great physicians, what she was
suffering from and what she can do to make her feel better. They both do not listen to Jane and
go ahead to conclude that she was not sick. "I don't know why I should write this. I don't want to.
I don't feel able. And I know John would think it's absurd. But I must say what I feel and think in
some way- it is such a relief" (Gilman 516). Louisa, on the other hand, felt trapped in marriage
and was not happy in it, yet she could not talk about it to anyone. According to Chopin, when she
receives news of her husband's supposed death, she locks herself in her room to celebrate her
freedom from the confines of marriage. She cannot even tell her sister how unhappy she was in
anywhere. Freedom is important for a person to achieve their goals in life. However, unlimited
freedom can also be detrimental to the individual, other people around them or society. Thus, the
many laws put in place to govern the degree of freedom that individuals in a society or a circle
enjoy. Freedom applies and varies from different aspects of life, such as politically, religiously,
socially and personally. In the early nineteenth century, women had no freedom in society,
especially in the institution of marriage. The men controlled everything their wives did or said.
In the two short stories, The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour, women face oppression
from their husbands as they deny their wives freedom. This paper thus, discusses how women
suffer for lack of freedom from their spouses.
Women lack freedom of movement. The women in the two stories are so dependent on their
husbands, who make all their decisions. They, however, secretly wish and long for freedom. In
The Story of an Hour, Mrs Mullard has a heart condition so she stays at home as per her
husband's directives. The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper also has no freedom to move from
one place to another. Her husband confines her in a big room with rails on the windows all day
long. "There are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the
gardeners and people. (Gilman 119). She expresses her desire to stay in a room downstairs, but
her plea goes unanswered. Jane, the narrator, suffers from the confinement in the room upstairs.
The room has terrible wallpaper, and nothing impresses her in it, so she prefers staying in one of
the pretty rooms downstairs. Her husband's refusal to shift rooms for her shows how he
controlled Jane's movement, yet he had the freedom to go out all day, and as a result, her
condition worsens because of the state of the room upstairs.
The husbands deny their wives freedom and the right to extend their maternal wings. Jane and
John had a baby, but unfortunately, Jane had no rights and freedom to bond with her baby. John
argues that it is not favorable, so everything that pertains to the baby is Mary's (John's sister)
responsibility. "It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot
be with him, it makes me so nervous" (Gilman, 649). John has labeled Jane 'a mental patient'
who is not capable of taking care of herself, let alone take care of a baby. Ironically, exempting
Jane from her duties as a woman in society does not make her better, as John stated. She gets
worse and eventually loses her sanity completely. No mother would retain a sober mind away
from her child. Jane sees her room as a nursery where her child would stay. It is a natural instinct
of a mother to care for her child.
Women do not have freedom of expression. In marriage, women had no freedom to express their
opinions. Their husbands treated them like children who had no mind to make decisions, let
alone voice them. When Jane tries to talk to John, he shuts her, calling her child and telling her to
go back to sleep. He also tells her to stop thinking rest her condition worsens. The worst of it is
when she tries to explain to both her husband and her brother, great physicians, what she was
suffering from and what she can do to make her feel better. They both do not listen to Jane and
go ahead to conclude that she was not sick. "I don't know why I should write this. I don't want to.
I don't feel able. And I know John would think it's absurd. But I must say what I feel and think in
some way- it is such a relief" (Gilman 516). Louisa, on the other hand, felt trapped in marriage
and was not happy in it, yet she could not talk about it to anyone. According to Chopin, when she
receives news of her husband's supposed death, she locks herself in her room to celebrate her
freedom from the confines of marriage. She cannot even tell her sister how unhappy she was in
