Kate Chopin's "The Dream of an Hour" and "Desiree's Baby"

Nineteenth Century Tyranny
Women are commonly expected to keep acceptable and established female characters. Kate Chopin, a female in the nineteenth century, ignores these positions given by society with writing. Though she claimed not to be a feminist, she still believed in women’s ability to be strong and live life without constraints. Kate Chopin’s “The Dream of an Hour” and “Desiree’s Baby” are reactions to the oppression of females in the nineteenth century. Both stories deal with traditional female roles, fear of their husbands, and women’s need for independence.
Traditional female roles are present in Kate Chopin’s works. Many believed that the “proper sphere for a woman was the house” (Thomas 21). Then woman of the family was also expected to care for the child and keep a societal status. Though the actual responsibilities of motherhood and household chores varied from social classes, the woman was assumed to be the primary overseer of the home...