There is an astonishing relationship between James Joyce's “Exiles” (1914) and “The Story of an Hour” (1894 ) by Kate Chopin. They indeed share different themes: for the first, themes such as suffering, betrayals and personal freedom are evoked throughout the text while for the second, themes such as death, marriage and aspiration to emancipation through independence are observed. In “Exiles”, there are four characters including Richard, Robert, Bertha and Beatrice. Richard and Bertha are common-law husband and wife, but Bertha at the same time continued to seduce Robert into having a more intimate relationship while Beatrice also had extramarital affairs with Richard. On the other hand, in “The Story of an Hour”, he depicts different emotional states including the joy that Mrs. Mallard went through after losing her husband. Thus, a common theme in both works is the desire for freedom as the female protagonists such as Bertha and Mrs. Mallard attempt to pursue what their hearts desire simply without conforming to the society which is filled with traditional values ​​of the time. Nonetheless, both works could involve sexism that includes prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender, as both texts include unequal situations of placing women in a patriarchal society through means such as different symbolic motifs, the actions of the female protagonists. and ironic social phenomenon observed in marriage. Thus, in the following essay, I will analyze each of the elements of the texts respectively. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Comparing “Exiles” and “The Story of an Hour,” both depict individual aspirations for freedom in conjunction with sexism through different symbolic motifs in the text and I will focus on TWO of them. In the first act of "Exiles", Richard and Robert continued to discuss their perceptions and attitudes towards women and Robert suddenly noticed a stone on the table that Bertha had brought from the shore. It is in fact a form of symbol illustrating Robert's theory on the qualities that an ideal woman should possess. Literally, stone is a kind of solid and hard mineral material that could be used as a building material. However, when applying the "stone" to the text, it could be a form of symbolism consisting of the male mentality regarding the characteristics that women are expected to possess, which implies sexism, as this includes prejudice against women whereby men think women are fragile and controllable. Additionally, the stone is extremely hard and it represents that women should be persistent, tough and independent – ​​which is what men expect. Bertha's bringing it home from the shore could mean and imply to the men that she would like to have the characteristics similar to those of a stone. Moreover, for “The Story of an Hour”, “the open window” in paragraph 4 is a symbol. Literally, it can mean opening windows commonly seen in classrooms or homes for better air circulation. However, when we apply it to the text, Mrs. Mallard looks out the window a lot and this represents the freedom and opportunities that awaited her after her husband died. In paragraphs 5 and 6, Mrs. Mallard could foresee joy through the sapphire sky, fluffy clouds and treetops from the window, she could even hear the songs of people or birds. This could make hertruly delighted and once she fully wallows in the elation that comes from it, she will be able to regain the vitality of her life. Additionally, the open window also represents independence in her new life, which is now no longer hindered by her husband's demands. Two of the symbolisms could reflect the dominance of men in a hegemonic society where they take control of women. Men emphasize their power as well as their personal freedom and disregard women's emotions. Despite women for a long time because freedom, ideologies and the conformism of society had spontaneously labeled and unfortunately constrained them. Additionally, by having female protagonists as common ground for both “Exiles” and “The Story of an Hour,” the rebellious acts they perform could embody such nature to satisfy their inner desires in the text. In “Exiles”, Bertha did not fulfill her role and obligations as a wife because she did not obey the orders of Richard who is her common-law husband. In fact, she simply followed where her heart leads by becoming involved in an intimate relationship with Robert. In the first act, Robert asked Bertha's permission to kiss his hand, his eyes and even his mouth. Surprisingly, Bertha allowed him to do this with pleasure and commitment. They even committed adultery later in "Exiles", although Bertha's actions simply attempt to make Richard jealous of fulfilling his sense of existence and security in marriage. Moreover, for “The Story of an Hour”, in paragraph 11, Ms. Mallard shouted “free, free, free!” and paragraph 13 mentioned that “There would be no one to live for in the years to come; she would live for herself. Indeed, Mrs. Mallard longs for individual freedom because she feels determined and satisfied after the "death of her husband", believing that she could regain her self-esteem and survive with herself with pleasure and dignity without let no one interfere in his life. . She is convinced that she will live well without the support of her husband because he offers her torment and constraints. Both texts could show their aspirations for personal freedom through the rebellious actions they performed, their trapped situations as "wives" in marriage and how they try to change their destiny in the chauvinistic society masculine. Last but not least, both stories could involve women's desire for freedom as well as marriage in a patriarchal society with an ironic social phenomenon. In “Exiles,” Bertha possessed the individual freedom and bargaining power necessary to leave Richard or continue flirting with Robert. However, she still accepted Richard's proposal after all the incidents such as quarrels, betrayals and doubts and she still wanted to possess this man wholeheartedly, this is a kind of irony of the situation because we expect what Bertha leaves Richard as Richard had devastated her by engaging in adventures with other girls, but in act three they still chose to finally be united body and soul in total nudity. The result is very absurd because it is contrary to our expected results. On the other hand, Mrs. Mallard was totally perplexed after being attached to her husband as she suffered from losing her sense of self after marriage. In paragraph 21, she even died from being too joyful – “from the joy that kills” of being able to live without her husband to be able to enjoy the greatest independence. This scene is very ironic and subtle because it is not joy that killed, but rather the form of oppression linked to her role as wife that killed. This could be a form of dramatic irony in that the characters.