When comparing and contrasting two or more works of literature at the same time we should be able to describe both works, show the similarities and the difference. In order for a writer to show such qualities he or she must have a very good and clear understanding of the work of literature in question because without it the writer would not be able to recognize the Narrative point of view and most importantly the author's point of view of the whole story. The reason I write this paper is to compare and contrast two very great short stories which are "The Yellow Wallpaper." by Charlotte Perkins Gilman which was written in the year 1892 and "The Story of an Hour." by Katie Chopin which was written in the year 1894. Both stories will be discussed with details in the preceding paragraphs.

To look at the stories in comparison one can identify that both of the females lived during the same era. It was a time when women whose husbands had a decent income were expected to be demure and fragile. Women were considered to be delicate creatures that should take to their bed and rest. The husbands controlled the entire destiny of the woman and family. In both stories the women are fragile women who have become psychologically ill due to the pretenses they were expected to demonstrate. The differences were that one woman is living in the city, her husband has gone off to work, she has a heart condition, and she had believes him dead. The husband appears and she dies because her chance at freedom is lost. The woman with the yellow wall paper is in a country house on vacation. She is forced to play sick and is told she must rest by her husband and doctor. As a result she descends into madness believing the wall paper has come alive.

The most intense level of comparison between both is the idea of a woman seeking to define her own narrative. The woman in "The Yellow