In life the most stress is felt when you are faced with sudden experiences that shape the world around you in one instant. In the story The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin, Mrs Mallard was faced with this same experience. The story starts with the “death” of Mr. Mallard and proceeded with the heart breaking news being told to his sick wife. Through many troubling thoughts Mrs. Mallard came to the acceptance that life was a free flowing stream and the only way to avoid drowning is to simply flow along with it. As a new way of life presented it self Mrs. Mallard realized that as a life ended a new one starts. This thought then became her drive for the years to come. Suddenly, just as fast as her new foundation was build, it was shattered by the sight of the “beloved” husband. Not only was she speechless but also breathless. Mrs. Mallard was not the only one, the story A Jury Of Her Peers By Susan Glaspell shows how sudden experiences could have extreme rippling affects. This story revolves around the case of an unknown murder where a wife is left in the hot seat. As the story starts, a sheriff by the name of Mr. Peters has the opportunity to work on the case of the murder of a man by the name of Mr. Wright. As the tedious task of clue hunting went on through out the story, the wives that were brought to the seen played the most crucial role. As the story draws to its end, Mrs. Hale, a close friend of Mrs. Wright brought the twisted truth to light which stemmed from a “twisted” altercation between Mr. And Mrs. Wright which may leave her incarcerated.
In both cases, it can be said that both women over reacted but was their actions morally justified? Mrs. Mallard reaction to her husbands death may have seems unusual but in her perspective, she was trapped. Once her husband died she was now able to see the steal cage that has been surrounding her life and finally made the attempt to flee when the doors suddenly closed. When it comes to the case of Mrs. Wright, it seemed as if she was not only trapped by an controlling man but forced into a cage that she was simply too large to fit in. After years of mental torture she finally broke free by ending her husbands life. Both women faced struggles in two unique forms but to judge them in a negative fashion does not seem fitting. Instead in my view, they were pushed to take justice in their own hands and should be seen as individuals that finally got to their breaking points.
