Seneca Falls, suffrage, and Carrie Chapman Catt are influential terms associated with one of the most progressive movements in American history. These terms are identified with the women's rights movement from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The women's rights movement was a time period in America that saw changes in, of course, the inequality women faced in certain regulations, but the movement sparked change in the world of literature of American women. Female authors began to publish more and more pieces of literature that addressed the injustice that women faced at the time. Two short stories that came out of this movement were "The Yellow Wallpaper," written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, and "The Story of an Hour," written by Kate Chopin in 1894. "The Yellow Wallpaper" depicts a bed-ridden woman who becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her home and it seemingly drives her insane. "The Story of an Hour" depicts a woman with a heart condition who is, initially, distraught at the news of her husband's false death, but dies from a joy-fueled heart attack when she sees her husband is actually alive. Although these two stories are quite different in plot, they both give an in-depth look into the period of the women's rights movement and both portray the ideologies that women had in mind at the time. Elements and symbols from both stories that depicted the foundations of the women's movement were the oppression women felt in marriage, illness, and the seek for independence to break from that oppression. 

One of the evident themes of "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour" is the oppression women felt in their marriages. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the unnamed narrator suffers from a nervous condition and her husband, who is a physician, has ordered her to not partake in anything active as part of her treatment. The narrator's oppression is portrayed when she claims "You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?" (Gilman 209), and "Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?" (Gilman 209). She does not agree with the bed rest treatment and believes that she can get better if she worked. However, because her husband discards the seriousness of her illness and her thoughts on how to treat it, the narrator knows she can not change her husband's mind and does what she is ordered to do. While it is not blatantly stated by the narrator, the theme of oppression is evident in "The Story of an Hour" as well. This oppression is inferred when the narrator, Louise, is initially distressed at the news of her husband's death, but she begins to look at his death in a new light. Louise claims "But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (Chopin 224). Louise does not specifically state how she was oppressed like the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" did, but rather states that marriage, itself, is an oppressive ideal. The quote hints that Louise felt oppression in her marriage and now that she was free from her husband, she could enjoy the life of self-liberty to come. These two stories exemplified oppression in marriage, one of the strongest motivations behind the women's rights movement. The literature of the time reflected this oppression and exasperated women's need to break free from their husbands' rule. As a result of this oppression, illnesses became literary symbols of the movement. 

Another common occurrence in both stories was that both of the protagonists had some form of sickness that, ultimately, played a role in their downfall. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the unnamed narrator suffered from a nervous depression that was constantly drawn back to "Of course it is only nervousness. It does not weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way!...And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous. I suppose John never was nervous in his life. He laughs at me so about this wallpaper!" (Gilman 211). This condition and lack of quality treatment led the narrator to being fixated on the yellow wallpaper and drove her to insanity. Rather than a mental condition, "The Story of an Hour" showed that Louise's heart was physically weak and highly emotional circumstances could lead to her disaster. The significance of her sickness is stated in the opening sentence of the story "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (Chopin 223). Her heart condition proved to be the main contributing factor of her death when she saw that her husband was alive as stated in the concluding sentence "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease   of the joy that kills" (Chopin 224). These sicknesses and ailments were included in literature to show and emphasize the circumstances that the women of that time period had to face and contributed to their movement. The physical consequences of insanity and death were a call to attention of the lack of quality treatment women received during that time. The bed rest treatment that the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" received is the same treatment prescribed to the author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and so she felt the need to share the result of that treatment and show the results of being oppressed. The symbolism behind the illnesses in literature called a deeper attention to the sickness of oppression in marriage and the lack of equality women faced during that time. The oppression of marriage and the resulting illnesses drove the women's continuous search for independence.

The final common aspect of both stories was the main driving force of the whole women's rights movement, the seek for independence. The narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" wanted to seek independence from her husband and actually do the things she wanted to do. The narrator viewed the yellow wallpaper as the sign of that independence and became fixated on it to the extent of insanity "Then I peeled off all the paper I could reach standing on the floor. It sticks horribly and the pattern just enjoys it!" (Gilman 220). The narrator believes a woman is a trapped behind the wallpaper and it is revealed that woman was the narrator, herself, that was trapped. The woman was trapped in her oppressive marriage and freeing the yellow wallpaper was part of her search for independence from her husband. The concept of searching for independence was obvious in "The Yellow Wallpaper," but it was subtler in "The Story of an Hour." Stated before, it was hinted that Louise felt oppression in her marriage to her husband. She was struck with grief from his death, but she saw that there were years lying ahead of her that she can spend by herself. This excited her and it seemed that her ultimate goal of independence was achieved with her husband's untimely death. However, this would soon not be the case when her husband is revealed to be alive at the end of the story. The story says that Louise was overcome with a surplus amount of joy that her heart gave out. However, her death can be viewed in a different perspective that her goal of independence was not achieved. That sought out goal was so integral in her life, that Louise's soul was crushed that it did not become a reality like she had hoped. The goal of independence was the overall achievement that the followers of the women's rights movement hoped to accomplish. This dream of independence was so radical that it had to be included in the works of literature at the time. Because their goal was found in these works of text, women did not lose sight of it and ultimately achieved a more equal status.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour" were two stories published in one of the most progressive eras of American history. The women's rights movement would not have received as much recognition as it did without the contributions of literature. Without the works of literature from Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Kate Chopin, and many others, there would not have been as much people actually realizing that the gender injustice of that time period was a legitimate issue. These two stories spoke up about the reality women faced during that time and made it clearer for the American public to see what was really going on in the marriages of American people. Women were grown tired of the constant oppression of their husbands, the physical and symbolic illnesses that grew from their marriages, and the goal of seeking independence was achievable with the right amount of effort. American history shows that these women were able to achieve more equal rights, achieve that justice they wanted, and achieved that status that they had hoped for when marrying their husbands. Without the women's rights movement, American society would not be able to function as it does without powerful female figures to counterbalance the constant gender war. Even though the reform efforts of the women's movement were groundbreaking in its time, there is continuous unrest concerning gender equality in current issues. The figures like Gilman and Chopin are what reached out to people of their era and made their time period much more understandable for the future generations. If there are more Charlotte Perkins Gilmans and more Kate Chopins in today's world, then today's issues concerning gender injustice will be neutralized. These are the people that can portray the ideals of today's generation and spread them just like their predecessors before.

