An Investigation into Literary Elements: A Study of Exiles (1914) by James Joyce and “The Story of An Hour” (1894) by Kate Chopin Anonymous College

There is an astonishing relationship between “Exiles” (1914) by James Joyce and “The Story of An Hour” (1894) by Kate Chopin. They indeed share different themes - For the former, themes such as suffering, betrayals and personal freedom are portrayed throughout the text whilst for the latter, themes like death, marriage and aspiration for emancipation through independence are observed. In “Exiles”, there are four characters which include Richard, Robert, Bertha and Beatrice. Richard and Bertha are common-law husband and wife, but Bertha at the same time kept seducing Robert to have a more intimate relationship whilst Beatrice also had extramarital affairs with Richard. On the other hand, in “The Story of an Hour”, it portrays different emotional states especially for joy that Mrs. Mallard had gone through after losing her husband. Thus, one common theme of the two works is the desire for liberty as the female protagonists such as Bertha and Mrs. Mallard are trying to pursue what their hearts simply long for without conforming to the society which is filled with traditional values at that time. Nevertheless, both of the works could imply sexism which includes prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender as both of the texts...