Marriage is the closest bond that any two humans can forge. It is the basis of the family and an expression of ultimate love. It was used as a tool by royal families in both Western and Eastern civilizations; used a way to forge alliances that lasted as long as the couple remained alive. It is given a status in society and is sought after by almost everyone. Marriage is, therefore, an important literary device. The word marriage is used to personify unbreakable bonds. However, marriage is more than just a symbol. It is also an important state-of-being for the characters in a story. In Kate Chopin's “Story of an Hour” and Tim O'Brien's In The Lake of the Woods, the main characters are married. The bonds of marriage were essential to the character development of the stories. These stories are used to show us that marriages are not perfect and can push people to their limits. Furthermore, these stories also speak out against the subordination of women in marital life. Marriage is the keystone of these two works of fiction.
“She said it over and over under her breath: "free,free,free!"” (Chopin). Chopin expresses marriage as an obligation in two senses: a goal that must be obtained, and a commitment that must be carried out. When Louise Mallard, in “Story of an Hour” believes her husband to be dead, she cannot help but be overwhelmed with a sense of freedom. Now that her life's main function was complete, the rest of her life was hers. Before her marriage, she was a slave to society, pressed and suffocated with the idea that marriage was the only thing a woman should prepare for in life. During the marriage, her life was dominated by her husband. But now that he is dead, she can live any way she chooses. It truly is the ultimate freedom.
“'I'm not crying,' she said.” (O'Brien, 6). O'Brien's view of marriage is that it cannot overcome the idea that two people who join together in matrimony are still individuals. It roots out the notion that the two become one. In situations like the one that face John and Kathy Wade in In The Lake of the Woods, the individual begins to take over. Kathy, who has given everything up for her husband and yet still has to be “his wife” is pushed to her limits. John, who lost everything in his own way and forced his wife to suffer through so much pain, can't stand being her husband anymore. Perhaps they thought that love would conquer all. It didn't.
There was a study that showed a connection between marital happiness and individual happiness. It supported the idea that not only does a good marriage make a happy individual, but vice versa. (Dush, Taylor, Kroeger). In these two cases the people in the marriages are identified as not only unhappy with their relationships, but unhappy with themselves. Louise Mallard was discontented with society, Kathy Wade had troubles within her family and John Wade had his own slew of past horrors. These things all affected the marriages they were in. The case is stronger in In The Lake of the Woods, however, because it takes place in an age where marriage is not as great a societal obligation.
And so each set of spouses were pushed to their limits. In “Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard goes mad with her new sense of freedom and guilt over feeling joy at the loss of her husband; feelings which kill her in the end. In In The Lake of The Woods, both partners end up missing and foul play is, at the very least, on the table.
These ideas tie in with a study that shows that in repairing marriages there are four factors: assurances, openness, time and punishments. It is expressed that certain things should be guaranteed to the spouse (assurances), that during this time everything must be revealed (openness), that time will take away the pain (time) and that sometimes retribution is necessary (punishments). (Brandau-Brown, Ragsdale). This concept can be tied into these two scenarios in different ways. In In the Lake of the Woods it is simply a case of the couple trying these various steps to repair their marriage after an incredibly stressful time. Kathy assured John that she still loved him, John's secrets had all been revealed, and their time at the Lake of the Woods would give them time to repair their marriage. One of them decided, however, that punishment was also necessary. In “Story of an Hour” the marital stress factor is only implied in the past tense. Therefore this connection seems obsolete, however this cycle was made mentally. Louise was assured that she was now free, she could be open with her feelings, and she had all the time in the world. The heart-attack that followed was her punishment.
