Adrian Huerta

English in Literature
Professor Lago
March 11, 2014
A Clich Lifestyle
Through cultural beliefs, men have always been deemed superior over women. The physical
dominance men have over women has led society to stereotype gender so that men believed they
were created to dominate and rule while women were meant to serve. The male was responsible
to provide the household with the necessities of survival such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Women, on the other hand, were viewed only as servants so they became housewives that
cooked for the family, cleaned the house, and raised the children. The gender stereotype
explained is reinforced through Jamaica Kincaids Girl, which teaches a young girl how to
become the ideal housewife for their future husband. These teachings were viewed as crucial
information that led to the happiness of women.
Over time man has established their dominance by restricting certain rights from women
such as voting. This repressed right led society to progress without a female voice. For decades,
women followed in the footsteps of their voiceless ancestors in becoming the stereotypical
housewife. This perpetual lifestyle that women inherited can be portrayed in The Story of an
Hour by Kate Chopin which was written in 1894 (Chopin). During this time period, women did
not have the right to vote. With this being said, women did not have any way to promote laws to
help empower them, and instead were forced to be inferior to men. Women were not allowed to
own property, have a job, and were forced to obey their husbands commands. As time
advanced, women were led to believe that they had to carry a certain image as a female. Above
maintaining the image, they also had to act and follow the cultural norms deemed appropriate by
men.
The Story of an Hour, is a short story about Louise who is a housewife during the 19
th

century with a sensitive heart condition (Chopin). In this short story, Louise is informed by her
sister that her husband was on a plane that had allegedly crashed. At first she was devastated, but
as the story unfolds we see mixed feelings about the death of her husband. Although she loved
her husband, she exclaimed Free! Body and soul free! (Chopin). Louise felt free after the death
of her husband because she had become his servant after marriage. This is reinforced when the
narrator states And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. There would be no
one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no
powerful will bending her (Chopin). Since Louise was now free from the chains of marriage,
she would no longer have to live to serve her husbands desires. She could focus on enjoying
herself and doing things that she wanted to do but could not do when her husband was around.
The powerful will bending her references the superior dominance her husband had over her
actions.
If Louise was prohibited from doing something by her husband, then it was the law
according to the cultural norm of that time period. Women were not allowed to go against their
husband. This is seen in the short story before Louise proclaims her freedom when the narrator
states And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not (Chopin). The often she had
not, can be referenced to the feelings she felt against her husband when he prohibited her from
doing something she wanted to do. This was very common during that time period. As long as
Louises husband was alive, Louise would have to be a housewife and obey his every command.
The cultural belief of stereotyping gender did not end after the 19
th
century and continued
into the 20
th
century. Girl, was written by Jamaica Kincaid during the 1970s (Kincaid). In the
poem, the narrator lectures the young girl on how to become the ideal housewife for her future
husband. Although written almost one hundred years later, Girl, has the same gender
stereotype found in The Story of an Hour. The narrator states This is how you iron your
fathers khaki pants so that they dont have a crease; this is how you iron your fathers khaki
pants so that they dont have a crease (Kincaid). From the lines above we can infer that the
narrator was teaching her how to iron at a young age so that they may get a custom to ironing
mens clothing. As a housewife, one of the responsibilities inherited was ironing their husbands
clothing, so it may look presentable for work. Since it is her fathers clothing, we can infer that it
is a young girl who is living with her family, and she is being taught a young age the stereotypes
of male and female.
Females had to play the ideal image of the perfect housewife at all times because it was
deemed appropriate by society. The narrator states Always eat your food in such a way that it
wont turn someone elses stomach; on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you
are so bent on becoming (Kincaid). During the 1970s, if women did not fit the description of a
lady or even committed one un-lady like action, they were quickly labeled as a slut. That is why
the narrator is teaching the young girl on how to act in society. Throughout the poem, the
narrator gets deeper on teaching the young girl to become the perfect housewife when she states
this is how you set a table for dinner (Kincaid). One of the most important roles for women as
housewives was having dinner ready by the time their husband came home after a long day at
work. This is a crucial piece of evidence in identifying the cultural value placed on women from
previous generations.
In many cultures, women were viewed as housewives and men as the laborers. This
cultural belief has had a great impact on stereotyping gender and has been around way before the
19
th
century. The cultural beliefs date so far back that society has adapted this value to be
perceived as normal. That is why young girls are raised to fit the description of housewives while
young boys are raised to fit the stereotype of the head of household. By teaching women at a
young age, the teachings were inscribed as normal. Men provided the necessities of survival such
as food, water, and shelter, while women used those necessities to cook, clean, and raise the
children. With no voice, or opinion, females were raised to fit the description and not complain
to their husbands but to live a clich lifestyle.









Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. ""The Story of an Hour"" "The Story of an Hour" N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2014.
Kincaid, Jamaica. "VirtuaLit Fiction: Girl." VirtuaLit Fiction: Girl. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar.
2014.