Comparing Story Of An Hour, Miss Brill And I Stand Here Ironing
889 Words4 Pages
When born into this world we are either male or female. “Gender refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex. Behavior that is compatible with cultural expectations is referred to as gender-normative; behaviors that are viewed as incompatible with these expectations constitute gender non-conformity” (APA). Even though time has past, equality for women is still not achieved. In the short stories “The Story of an Hour”, “Hills Like White Elephants”, “Miss Brill” and “I Stand Here Ironing” all are written by authors that have women protagonists. They focus on the struggles with their gender issues throughout their journey’s.
When the women are faced with sticking to the stereotypical…show more content… The young couple included a self-centered man and woman that is worldly. In their conversation the girl describes the scenery as “The mountains look like white elephants”(S&W 416). They continue on about how she is carrying their child and he wants her to have an abortion. She wants to keep the baby but he ends the story with them boarding. She says to the man, “I feel fine, there’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine” (S&W 419). This leaves the reader guessing if she went with his decision. Hemingway ends the last sentence of the story being a lie. This shows how far she was willing to go for her relationship. She took control out of her hands and right into his. She is so committed to him that she is willing to give up the child. She makes this clear when confessing “I would do anything for you”(S&W 419). This diminishes the woman’s independence. This leads her more reliable on him in as the relationship continues. It will lead what “Miss Brill” experienced. She kept inside the stereotypical female role that lets society determine who they are instead of discovering what happens when you deviate from