Chopin writes about a Mrs. Mallard, who received news that her husband died in a railroad accident. She is shocked at first and sits in grief until she comes upon an intelligent thought. As she sits in her chair, looking out a window she realises she is not sad because she has finally rid of this husband that oppressed her. She can live for herself, look forward to life and no longer has to abide by his will. When struck with the sight of her alive husband, she dies at once from a heart attack because of the shock. Mrs. Mallard strove for independence from her husband and finally got it.
Chopin talks about how during this movement, women felt oppressed by their husbands. This relates to "The Yellow Wallpaper" because when the narrator felt depressed, she was sent away to a prison-like room and had to abide by her husband/doctors rules. During this era, women were not allowed to decide what to do on their own because they had maids to do all their house work and husbands who got money for the home, all they had to do was sit around the house. With this unsatisfactory life, many became depressed. Men saw themselves as not having authority at work so used it improperly at home. Men and women for the most part, did not have healthy relationships at this time rooting from the work place.
When Chopin posted this in Vogue, was she criticized by many men?
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