Wagner Matinee vs the Story of an Hour free essay sample

First off, in both stories, there is a character who has given up something important and significant in their lives. In â€Å"A Wagner Matinee†, Aunt Georgiana gave up a life of music and culture, for a life of hardship on the prairie. Likewise, Mrs. Mallard, from â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, gave up her freedom with marriage. For both characters, these sacrifices came with great costs. For Aunt Georgiana, a life without music is painful enough. After the matinee is finished and the guests have all left, she out cries and pleads I dont want to go, Clark, I dont want to go! After hearing this beautiful music for the first time in thirty years, she realizes she loves it too much to be without it again. The pain of leaving her passion and love is too overwhelming for her to take. For Mrs. Mallard, marriage forfeited her freedom, forcing her to live a life of oppression. We will write a custom essay sample on Wagner Matinee vs the Story of an Hour or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Louise’s desire for freedom far exceeds her love for her husband; she would rather live freely than be in a marriage that subjects her to domesticity. Although Mrs. Mallard was initially sad after hearing the news of her husband’s death, those feelings faded away quickly, and were replaced with a sense of joy and happiness. This moment in the story was similar to the scene when Aunt Georgiana hears the matinee, as she also becomes very emotional and happy, just like Mrs. Mallard when she gets the taste of freedom and liberation with the news of her husband’s death. Another minor similarity between the stories is that both of the characters love their husbands, and have no negative feelings toward them. Aunt Georgiana gave up her life of culture and sophistication to run away with him, and Mrs. Mallard does not express any apparent ill-will against Mr. Mallard and even said he was a kind man. Although these stories share several similar characteristics, they also differ in many ways. Most prominently, Aunt Georgiana gave up music and culture, while Mrs. Mallard gave up her freedom. Both stories also have different settings, as â€Å"The Story of an Hour† does not really have a defined setting, rather, the events all occur in Mrs. Mallard’s house. However, â€Å"A Wagner Matinee† takes place in Boston, inside Aunt Georgiana’s nephew’s house, and inside a Victorian opera house. Both stories also differ in how the characters react when they are faced with sacrificing the thing they love again. Aunt Georgiana becomes upset, and exclaims that she does not want to go back to the prairie, while Mrs. Mallard simply dies, as she would rather die, than have to live a long life of oppression, without freedom. In conclusion, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"A Wagner Matinee† have several similarities, but also differ in many ways. Both of the main characters in each story are forced to sacrifice something important in their lives, and with each sacrifice, comes great pain. The stories differ in setting, the actual sacrifice in which each character made, and their reaction to having to give it up again.