Compare and contrast the female characters in the yellow wallpaper and The Story of an Hour Women are traditionally known as the less dominant sex. Throughout history, women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as housewives, carriers and raisers of children. Only recently, with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment, have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension that women have faced towards men. This tension comes from men; society, in general; and inside a woman herself. Two interesting stories, "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour," focus on a woman's plight in the late 19th century. This era is particularly interesting because it is a time in modern society where women were still treated as second class citizens. The two main characters in these stories show similarities, but are also noticeably different in how they approach their problems and life in general. These two characters will be examined to note the commonalities and differences. Although the two characters are similar in some ways, it will be shown that the woman in “Story of an Hour” is a stronger character based on the two important criteria of rationality and freedom. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, the unnamed female protagonist is going through a difficult time in her life. (For now on, this article will refer to this unnamed character as "the narrator in 'Wall-paper,'" short for "The Yellow Wall-paper." The narrator is confined to a room with strange wallpaper. This strange wallpaper seems to symbolize the complexity and confusion of her life. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard also has to deal with conflict as she has to deal with the death of her spouse. At first there is pain, but then there is the recognition that she will be free. The institution of marriage binds the two heroines of these two tales together. As typical young women of the late 19th century, they were married, and during the Throughout their lives, they were expected to remain married. Unlike today, where divorce is commonplace, marriage was a very sacred bond and divorce was taboo.