Besides the two you read for this lesson, Chopin wrote many more stories about wives and mothers, each exploring some aspect of the unique perspective of American women. If you compare "The Story of an Hour" and "A Pair of Silk Stockings," you'll notice how the two main roles that women were expected to fill during Chopin's time were similar in what they demanded that women give up.
Use the activity below to compare and contrast the two short stories you read for this lesson. Read the question in the left column and think about how you would answer it. Then click the question to see our response.
| Compare and contrast the plot of "A Pair of Silk Stockings" to the plot of "The Story of an Hour." What is similar about how the two stories are structured? | Both conflicts focus on women struggling to overcome the stereotypes and social constraints of their day. Also, the rising action in each of the stories describes a woman's attempt to depart from the "script" that she is expected to use for her life. |
| How are the plots of the two stories different? | "The Story of an Hour" has a surprise, ironic resolution, while "A Pair of Silk Stockings" ends in a much more conventional—though still ambiguous—way. |
| Compare the themes of the two stories. Is their message the same? | The themes are similar in that both emphasize the importance of listening to one's own hopes and desires when forming an identity as a free person. Both stories express the idea that such freedom is essential to the pursuit of happiness. |
| In what broader sense are the themes of the two stories similar? | They both express the plight of women in a society that restricts their freedom much more than it restricts the freedom of men. |
| How are the themes in both stories expressive of Naturalist philosophy? | Both stories express the Naturalistic idea that people's fates are determined by external forces—in this case, society's rules and expectations. |
Question
What aspects of a Naturalistic style are apparent in Kate Chopin's short stories?
Chopin creates an objective, unsentimental tone, and she does not editorialize or judge the characters or the situations.
