Twenty-first century national statistics scream divorce. Even though the relationship between husband and wife has been much more equal since the days of Kate Chopin's “The Dream of an Hour,” rampant divorce and single-parent families still make it difficult for today's children and teenagers to have confidence that they will marry happily. While cases of marital infidelity, alcoholism, and abuse are all major causes of separation, divorced women everywhere, to some extent, share Mrs. Mallard's cry: "Free! Free body and soul!" In his short story The Awakening and the short story "The Dream of an Hour," Chopin advocates not only the escape of oppressed wives from marriage, but also the further removal of any potentially constraining influences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay While Edna Pontellier's affection for Robert and Arobin amplifies the lack of marital loyalty today, Chopin's works condemn marriage more for preserving individual freedom than for sexual freedom. Mrs. Mallard revels in this newfound understanding; seizing the future, she embraces herself rather than the prospect of new relationships: "There would be no powerful will to bend hers into that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will on another human being ". "(2). Likewise, Mrs. Pontellier shares this somewhat cynical awareness regarding the banality of human coexistence: "I won't be forced to do things. I don't want to go abroad. I want to be left alone" (111). "The Dream of an Hour" and The Awakening are not only demonstrations of independence from marriage, but declarations of superiority over all human connection. Although Mrs. Pontellier's passion for Robert speaks warmly of the 'love outside of a binding marriage, the female protagonists of both works share the perception of its extreme insignificance. Discussing her love for her "deceased" husband, Mrs. Mallard resolves: "What did it matter? What could love, the unsolved mystery, count in the face of this possession of self-affirmation that he suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of his being" (2). Likewise, Edna Pontellier too easily exempts herself from the power of love and loss: "Today it is Arobin, tomorrow it will be someone else. It makes no difference to me..." (115). a champion. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Edna Pontellier and Mrs. Mallard each become the epitome of Transcendentalist philosophy. From the confines of suffocating marriages, every woman emerges with an overwhelming sense of self-worth. Ironically, however, their transcendence of social conformity produces a detachment as radical as introspective thought. Although their personal revelations are intense and inspiring, the characters underestimate the shared joys of life, especially love. By mistakenly conceiving emotions as simple "impulses", they reduce the complexity of life to one level: the soul. The reader must ask: are these women doomed in their cynicism? Their new transcendentalist ideals favor physical isolation and emotional freedom. Kate Chopin's works beautifully illustrate the value of independence; his madness lies in trivializing the embrace of a loved one.