Compare and Contrast

Traditionally, marriage was male dominated and the life of the female revolve around her husband no matter what. Women were obedient a lot in marriage and was also strictly defined by her husband, while the husband responsibility is to be the one to go out and bring home the bacon and tell his wife to cook it. After the women was emancipation, the women started to redefine their role in marriage, in my generation the role of marriage have change a lot, females are now going out and getting the bacon and telling their husband to cook it or the female is cooking the bacon herself. The husband is now taking and active interest in the raising their children and becoming a stay at home dad. The two stories that will be compare and contrast on how they portray the gender roles in marriage is "The Story of an Hour" by Katie Chopin and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber.

The Story of an Hour is about what Mrs. Mallard endures after hearing that her husband death, which was believed to have died in a tragic railroad disaster. Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart problems, so her sister had to inform her of the new in the most gentle and delicate way. After her sister informed Mrs. Mallard of Brantley mallard death, she went and locked herself in the bedroom to mourn the loss of her husband death immediately.

However after being in the room for a while she begins to feel and unexpected sense of excitement when she said "Free! Body and Soul Free!" is what she believed is a benefit from her husband death. At the end of the story it was made clear that her husband was not involved in the railroad disaster, in fact Mr. Mallard is still alive and upon his return home, Mrs. Mallard suddenly dies. The cause of her death was due to her heart problems and the emotional feeling that was occurring.

The next story is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty which is about a mild manner man named Walter Mitty who drives around Connecticut with his wife for their regular shopping trip and his wife hair appointment at the beauty salon. During this time Walter Mitty have five superhuman daydream episodes, one is a navy pilot commander, doctor, sharpshooter, bomber pilot and noble victim of a firing squad. Mr. Mitty is married to a woman who constantly treats him like a little boy instead of a man. In one of the lines Mrs. Mitty ask Walter why he did not put on his overshoes before leaving the store, he responded with frustration "I was thinking does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking" This is due to Mr. Mitty immature behavior and fantasies instead of being a man in the real world, he is always being upbraided by law enforcement, parking lot attendants and his wife for his irregular, unfocused behavior. (Walter, 2004)

These two stories are closely connected with gender roles in marriage and are similarly because both have a partner that have a tremendous power over them. Walters everyday