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Introduction
Marriage is an essential component of many societies, as it involves the union between two people in love with one another who would eventually create a family. As a form of social organization, marriage has become the subject of several controversies, with some outside of the purpose of romantic union. Notable pieces of literature attest to that fact, and this study aims to construct an analysis between two literary works – The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and A Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekhov. This study uses both literary works to establish that marriage, as a social practice, has found associations with various kinds of pressures.
Analysis: The Story of an Hour
The Story of an Hour by Chopin centers its theme on repression in marriage. The main character, Louise Mallard, received news that her husband died in a railroad-related accident. Having felt mournful at first, Mallard began to feel a sense of happiness from being free from her husband. Her repetitive pronunciation of the word “free” in the course of the story has provided an indication that her husband is her source of repression. Yet, the latter part of the story provided an interesting twist to the tale, as Mallard realizes that her husband is alive and unhurt in the accident. Mallard then dies of shock upon seeing her husband return (Toth, 1999).
Toth (1999) noted the controversial nature of the story of Chopin by emphasizing that for it to become publishable, Mallard had to perish. With that, there is considerable focus on the premise that the story aims to exact the notion of repression in marriage. While there is no express indication that Mallard had to endure and suffer undue pressure and violence in the hands of her husband, the indication of joy on her part upon hearing the false news shows that she finds the death of her husband as positive news. Disappointment on the part of Mallard is highly manifested in the part where she died of shock upon learning that her husband is alive. Clearly, the death of Mallard does not just serve as a detail to make the story publishable at the time of its creation. Rather, it makes up for the absence of exact details on repression in the story to note that Mallard has gone through painful experiences under her husband (Toth, 1999).
The pressure of repression has led Mallard to lose belief in romantic love. Throughout the story, Mallard has expressed clear pessimism towards the concept of love, which she rejects as she delves into the false news of the death of her husband. In that part alone, there is a strong showing that Mallard has already grown weary with her relationship with her husband. The jubilant expression of Mallard pertaining to her freedom stands as an apparent way of showing her appreciation of becoming single again, as she presumes with the death of her husband. The dichotomy of attitudes Mallard has shown in the story reflects that repression has happened in between, despite the absence of any express manifestation (Bender, 1991).
Critiques on the attitudes of Mallard have provided alternative perspectives on the story. One notable critique came from Berkove (2000), having stated that Mallard delved on egotism upon hearing the death of her husband. Mallard, on that account, has rendered herself selfish when she rejoiced upon hearing the false news of her husband having died in an accident. In that case, the death of Mallard serves as a proper consequence to the fact that she assumed too much. In other words, the grave disappointment of Mallard towards learning the falsity of the news has paved way to the natural consequence of her death by shock (Berkove, 2000). Nevertheless, it is undeniable that repression could have happened in the relationship of Mallard and her husband, noting that her death is a clear showing of her disappointment. The strength of emotions wielded in the story provides a clear emphasis that Mallard has long sought to free herself from the repressive clutches of her husband (Bender, 1991).
Analysis: A Marriage Proposal
Institutionalizing a romantic relationship is not the only cause for couples to choose the path of marriage. Indeed, in the story of A Marriage Proposal by Chekhov, marriage is also an option for couples to attain better living standards. Such leads to the perspective that couples who are not really in love with one another seek marriage only for the sake of improving their standings in life (Gottlieb, 1982).
In the story, Ivan Lomov has told his family friend and neighbor Stepan Chubukov that he wants to marry the daughter of the latter, named Natalia. Having given permission to court Natalia, Ivan discussed with her his reasons for visiting her, but his deviant personality tendencies associated with hypochondria has led the both of them to engage in an argument about a piece of land between their properties, called the Oxen Meadows. The argument escalated particularly when Ivan grew palpitations, causing Stepan to leave their place. Stepan found the proposal of Ivan as highly unfavorable, although Natalia insisted to have him back. Ivan then returned as prompted and soon started another argument with Natalia over their pet dogs. As a result, Ivan collapsed due to hypochondria, leaving Stepan and Natalia to think that he has. When Ivan woke up, Stepan forced him and Natalia to accept the proposals of one another through a kiss, although that did not stop the couple from starting in debates against one another (Meister, 1988).
Prevalent throughout the story of Ivan, Natalia and Stepan is the view on marriage as one that could effectively help improve the lives of couples. The constant arguments portrayed in the story pertain to discussions on the material terms of marriage that would enable both parties to have a better life when married. Chekhov portrayed Ivan as the sickly character who gets palpitations at the height of the arguments. Yet, that does not change the desperation of Natalia to get married, yet such is not out of her need to seal romance with Ivan. In fact, both Ivan and Natalia did not manifest their romantic sides in the story, as both constantly argued about material things reminiscent to that of upper-middle to upper class living. Also, the fact that Stepan had to force Ivan and Natalia to get married despite their argumentations imply that marriage, in the story, is only for the purpose of ensuring a better material life for the couple and for their families (Meister, 1988; Senelick,1985).
The satirical nature of the story vividly shows the purpose of all the characters on approaching marriage as an option to structure economic balance between couples. Ivan has laid out his personal preferences and views over the Oxen Meadows estate and his hunting dog as against those of Natalia who, despite having to deal with the tendencies of her male partner, still managed to maintain her desperation to enter marriage. The fact that Ivan and Natalia continued arguing against one another past marriage shows the importance of economic betterment for both parties, perhaps more important than the romance that should traditionally characterize married couples (Gottlieb, 1982). One strong reason for such is the fact that Chekhov wrote the story at the time when the society in Russia treated marriage as a means of ensuring economic stability between partners. Hence, the pressure involved in the story is social and economic in nature. It is social because Russian society at that time expects married couples to enjoy more financial endowments and economic because of the trend itself that induces couples to enter marriage (Meister, 1988).
Synthesis
Both The Story of an Hour by Chopin and A Marriage Proposal by Chekhov come in the short story format. The prevalence of dialogues and situational settings provide the key aspects of marital pressures outside the realm of romance – repression, in the case of Chopin on one hand, and social and economic in the case of Chekhov, on the other. Both stories do not highlight the traditional romantic character of marriage. Chopin wrote her story based on a woman rejoicing the death of her husband. Mallard, the main character, even downplayed the relevance of romantic love in her life and marriage with her husband. Chekhov structured his story based on the social view of Russians on marriage as an economic balancer for couples. The constant arguments on material things between Ivan and Natalia did not stop them from entering into marriage, with both appearing desperate over the matter to the extent that the father of Natalia, Stepan, even forced the marriage to push through (Bender, 1991; Meister, 1988).
Chopin structured her story on a series of emotional manifestations focused on one character – Mallard. Mallard, upon hearing the false news of the death of her husband, went through a change of emotions from becoming briefly mournful to being overjoyed due to the resumption of her freedom, as she repeatedly mentioned. The return of her husband disappointed and shocked her to death – a contrasting reaction to the general trend of the story. Mallard herself told her story of repression under her husband, but she did so in a manner of pure implications since she did not directly state instances of violence or pressure applied unto her. Through emphasis on emotions, Mallard strongly showed that being away with her husband permanently is positive for her well-being, given with the sense of happiness she expressed upon hearing the false news. The reversal of her expectations brought her great disappointment that naturally led to her death –an intense manifestation of her desire to get away from her husband (Bender, 1991; Berkove, 2000).
The dialogue between Ivan and Natalia, alongside the involvement of Stepan, the father of the latter, provides great evidence to the goal of Chekhov to embody the social and economic pressures on marriage in Russia at the time he wrote the story. What is clear for both Ivan and Natalia is that they continuously conflicted over the arguments they engage in. The palpitation attacks suffered by Ivan stood as the main breaking point for the two arguments fought between him and Natalia, but that did not stop the latter to marry him out of desperation and force from her father Stepan. Clearly, Ivan and Natalia did not agree on a single ground for all arguments in the story and they continued to argue even past marriage. Such, therefore, shows the discontentment of Ivan and Natalia over social and economic pressures on marriage in Russia – one that does not place the importance of romance as with the traditional entries to marriage (Meister, 1988; Senelick, 1985).
Conclusion
Both The Story of an Hour by Chopin and A Marriage Proposal by Chekhov effectively portrayed that marriage is effectively associated with various kinds of pressures. Repression is the theme used by Chopin, while Chekhov used social and economic pressures on marriage reminiscent to that of Russian society at the time he created his story. There is a strong showing that marriage is not something everyone likes to enter into out of pure romance. In fact, the trend of disillusionment provided by Chopin and prospects outside of romance by Chekhov effectively provides that marriage does not ensure romance for couples.
References
Bender, B. (1991). The teeth of desire: The awakening and the descent of man. American Literature, 63 (3), 459-473.
Berkove, L. (2000). Fatal self-assertion in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”. American Literary Realism, 32 (2), 152-158.
Gottlieb, V. (1982). Chekhov and the vaudeville. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Meister, C. (1988). The proposal. In Chekhov criticism: 1880 through 1986 (184-185). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Senelick, L. (1985). Chekhov on stage. In T. Clyman (Ed.), Chekhov companion (209-232). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Toth, E. (1999). Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
