Chopin's The Story Of An Hour And Joyce's The Dead

Marriage is commonly defined as an intimate union of a man and woman, involving a special kind of love and commitment that facilitates a harmonious relationship and family life. Too often, however, the reality of marriage proves to be far removed from the idealized images projected by society and religion since individual personalities and the drudgery of daily living lead to a deadening of relationships. Indeed, this is precisely the revelation that both Kate Chopin and James Joyce make in The Story of an Hour and The Dead although the two authors approach the subject of married relationships from rather different perspectives. Both Chopin's Mrs. Mallard and Joyce's Gabriel are depicted as awakening to the true state of their respective marriages. The difference, however, between the two protagonists is that while Mrs. Mallard awakens to her need for liberation, Gabriel...
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