Struggles of Protagonist in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”

In the stories an Hour and the Yellow Wallpaper the protagonists are women who are in oppression from their husbands. Both women make an effort to overwhelm their tyranny by attempting to ensure that there was a channel to their freedom. In the stories, both women attempted to discover a way that will bring relief to them. From the onset of both stories, symbolism is evident from the start. The central figure in the Story of an Hour is the window while on the other hand; the wallpaper is the central icon in the Story of the Yellow Wallpaper. The window that is the principal image in the Story of an Hour symbolizes Mrs. Mallard’s sovereignty or freedom (Janet E. Gardner, 2012).

Mrs. Mallard says, “Free body and soul,” to mean that she is lastly unrestricted. She says these words when she recognized that she was at the end unrestricted by her husband. She had been in a bondage situation and throughout the plot contemplated of ways to freedom. From the Story of an Hour, it is conditional that Mrs. Mallard was burdened since in the past she had no opportunities to help her obtain freedom that she requires (Chopin, 2001). Lastly, it is the window that freed her from all burdens she had in the past since it let her free by providing her opportunities that were new which were not there in the past.

The wallpaper in the Story of the Yellow Wallpaper is the central icon that symbolizes the burdens or oppression that the woman has had in her past as vied by John’s wife. To her, light of the day make her look as though she is at the back of the bars shuddering them. In addition to that, the woman tiptoes around at the night time. It is evident from theses actions that she was interested and gave it her wits to find an opportunity to freedom (Lancer, 1989). On the other hand, the Yellow Wallpaper’s, Mrs. John relates herself to the woman by telling that during the daytime she tiptoes around when John her husband was not there. However, Mrs. John agreed activities like being silent throughout the night hours since the primary freedom obstacle John was around and had all the fears that he will realize if she tried to creep. She decided to adopt silence becomes as a remedy to help her seek away (Chopin, 2001).

In the wallpaper, Mrs. John attempts to be relieved from her burdens and oppression by freeing the woman that was the portrait on the wall to analogously set her free from the burdens she was encountering. To her, the house remained to be her prison since she was being restricted by her husband, Mr. John. It a critical affair to leave the house according to what John had decreed. Moreover, John denied her the chance to write anything or communicate through other means. The rules against the protagonist are draconian, and they served more to make her urge to seek freedom grows even stronger. John pointed to depression as her problem and to remain open she needed to stay put (Janet E. Gardner, 2012).

To sum it up, both an Hour and the Yellow Wallpaper protagonist stories do not need accounting as a result of the denotation underlying each of the central icons or symbol of each story. The symbols herein are the way of freedom and the events that take place all point to need for freedom and a life far away from their antagonists. Both women attempt to ensure that they overcome their troubles by searching an exit of their individual feelings and the difficulties they have had in their past as a result of being denied freedom. Mrs. Mallard of an hour makes use of the window that is the primary symbols of the story to enable her obtain her freedom that she had awaited for long (Chopin, 2001). That was meant to relieve her from the oppressions and hardships she has experienced from her past.

The activities went forth to culminate in the freedom of Mrs. Mallard making the climax of the two episodes. Mallard takes this chance with awe and sets out to live a future full of freedom as she has always desired through the window. Yellow Wallpaper’s protagonist decidedly removes the picture as a symbol of freedom (Lancer, 1989). It enabled Mrs. John to get rid of her depressions and burdens she has experienced in her whole past life and become a free woman into her entire future life.

References
Chopin, K. (2001). The Story of an Hour. New York: Tale Blazers.
Janet E. Gardner, B. L. (2012). Literature: A Portable Anthology . New York: Bedford/St. Martins.
Lancer, S. (1989). The Yellow WallPaper. Retrieved OCT 1, 2014, from The yellow Wallpaper: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3177938?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104723266237