Representation of Gender Relations

The short stories, “Hills like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin present with the lives of two married couples and these stories portray the relationship between the husband and the wife. The two stories explain the similarities that exist in married relationships. They indicate the complexity of a married life where despite of the presence of love, relationships become strained on the basis of personal choice and freedom. The gender relations between a husband and a wife are portrayed in a similar manner in the two stories as the wives are aware of the fact that their husbands love them but there is still a lack of liberty and free will in their lives.
The girl in “Hills like White Elephants” and Louise Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” know that their husbands love them but still their lives are devoid of true happiness. The relationship between the husband and wife is normal in both the stories but there is an absence of true devotion and joy. The relationship between the opposite genders hence shows many similarities in the two stories. Louise Mallard remembers her husband by thinking, “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead.” Thus, she did know that her husband had always loved her, but there was still confusion in her own mind as she stated later that she also loved him but not always. It can be said that Louise loved her husband because she had to owing to the societal norms. In a similar manner, a strain in the relationship of the girl and the American and the feeling of unsure love is also present. This can be understood when the girl asks the American, “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?” This question proves the fact that the girl is not sure of the love of the American and she thinks that he does not love her unconditionally but...