Analyzing the Similarities between The Story of an Hour...

STORY OF AN HOUR AND DISTANT VIEW OF A MINARET Louise in The story of an hour and Badriyya in Distant view of a Minaret have one thing in common: they are both unhappy in their marriages and news of their husbands death only brings immense joy in their otherwise bleak lives. Even though written in two different parts of the world, depicting women who are products of vastly different cultures, it is amazing how similar their feelings are-showing that a woman in an unhappy marriage is just that-Unhappy and unsatisfied. It doesnt matter what part of the world she lives in and what cultural beliefs influence her thought process. In the end, she is just a woman who wants to be happy and seeks satisfaction in a marital relationship-lack of which can spell doom and depression. Story of an hour conveys the feelings of many married women who may not be entirely unhappy in their marriage yet feel restricted in some way. They feel that they could have done so much more had they not married, if they had been without all these restrictions. They could spread their wings and fly to their favorite destinations if they had stayed unmarried. Marriage despite all its so-called bliss is still a very restrictive union that clips a womans wings sometimes because of the children, sometimes because she is constantly reminded of her wifely and motherly duties and sometimes simply because her husband wouldnt approve. I loved the way Chopin captured the feelings of the leading female