Comparison between Miss Emily Grierson and Mrs. Mallard
“The Story of An Hour” written by Kate Chopin in 1894 and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” written in 1930 are two stories exploring the lives of two women amidst conflict and gender expectations from the society. These stories mirror the position held by women during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, as they were considered to be inferior to men. Emily Grierson of “A Rose for Emily” and Mrs. Mallard of “The Story of An Hour” having lived during these times, had some different and similar experiences.
| Similarities | Miss Emily Grierson | Mrs. Mallard | |
| 1. | Their lives were controlled by men | Miss Emily lived with his father, who never allowed her to get married (Faulkner, 28). Somehow, all the men she loved did not please his father, so she remained unmarried | When she received the news about her husband’s supposed death, she was sad, but eventually, she was happy that life was now going to be all about her (Chopin, 12). This shows that as long as his husband was alive, everything had to be about him. That is, Mrs. Mallard had to do everything to please his husband. |
| 2. | Both considered death to be a solution for their problems | When Miss Emily found out that Homer was planning to leave her because he loved men, not women, she got arsenic, a poisonous substance and used it to kill rats, and used it to kill her supposed husband, Homer (Faulkner, 33-47). She saw the death of Homer as the only way to tie Homer down so that he will never have to live her. | After living with her husband for many years, Miss Mallard was unhappy with her marriage. Therefore, after being informed of his husband’s supposed death, she was quite happy and saw this as an opportunity to live for herself and enjoy life alone (Chopin, 10-14). Therefore, she also considered the death of his husband as the only way of her getting freedom from his unhappy marriage. |
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| Differences | Miss Emily Grierson | Mrs. Mallard | |
| 1. | They had different takes on marriage. While Emily wanted marriage, Mrs. Mallard was ready be unmarried | Miss Emily wanted to be married, and when her father denied her the opportunity to do so, she lived a lonely life (Faulkner, 26-28). To some extent, after her father’s death, she was so desperate for marriage such that she killed Homer, his supposed husband so that he could never live her. This was after Emily found out that Homer loved men not women. | Mrs. Mallard on the other hand was married, and to her, it was not a good experience. The author says that “And yet she liked him sometimes” (Chopin, 13) This means that she was not always happy in her marriage. This explains why she was happy when he was told about his husband’s death. She even considered it as freedom for her (Chopin, 14) |
| 2. | They had different reaction towards societal expectation | At 30 years of age, Emily was still unmarried, and this was against societal expectations (Faulkner, 25). This led him to a moment of desperation starting with staying indoors without interacting with her neighbors. This continued until she met Homer who restored her pride. | Mrs. Mallard was not afraid to go against societal expectations. The society expected her to mourn the death of her husband. When her sister tells her not to open the door and not make herself ill, she tells her that she would definitely not do that (Chopin, 16). This is because, she had already figured out her freedom resulting from the death of his husband. Hence, to Mrs. Mallard, there was no need to mourn her husband. |
| 3. | Their reactions towards death of the mean in their lives was different | Emily was saddened by his father’s death such that she lived in denial for three days before allowing people to bury him (Faulkner, 27). Also, when she killed Homer, she never disposed his corpse. Instead, she kept it in her bed and even used to sleep next to it. This shows that she was not ready to let go of the men in his life. | Mrs. Mallard on the other hand only mourned for a few minutes after which it was all joy for her that his husband was dead (Chopin, 10-16). |
From these similarities and differences, I learned a lot about the society. Societal expectations can put people under pressure causing them to make wrong decisions as those made by Emily. Emily forced herself into Homer out of desperation caused by the expectation for her to be married at 30 years. Also, it was caused by the father not allowing her to get married to men of his choice. The societal traditions placing women below men also play a critical role in the deaths that happen in the two stories. Therefore, from these readings, I have learned the importance of having equal rights for both men and women. This will eliminate unhappiness that causes community vices such as murder.