Passive Protagonists in Steinbeck and Chopin's Short Stories
This essay compares the female protagonists of two classic American short stories: Elisa Allen in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" and Louise Mallard in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." The paper argues that both women are passive protagonists whose political and personal agency has been stripped away by patriarchal social norms. Drawing on symbolism — particularly the use of nature and sexuality — the essay explores how both authors use their protagonists' trapped marriages, suppressed desires, and pessimistic endings to deliver a powerful social commentary on the limited roles available to women in their respective historical moments.
- Introduction: Passive Protagonists and Patriarchy: Thesis: patriarchy strips both protagonists of agency
- Nature as Symbol of Wasted Potential and Escape: Nature imagery reflects wasted potential and suppressed desire
- Loveless Marriages and Suppressed Liberation: Both women trapped in loveless marriages, fighting freedom
- Pessimistic Endings and the Cost of Conformity: Both stories end in loss, grief, and aging
- Conclusion: Storytelling Against Patriarchy: Authors use different strategies to expose patriarchal limits
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses parallel structure consistently, analyzing both protagonists side by side throughout each section rather than treating them in separate blocks — this reinforces the comparative argument at every turn.
- Grounds claims in direct textual evidence, citing specific quotations from both stories to support each analytical point about nature, sexuality, and suppression.
- Maintains a clear, sustained thesis — that patriarchy renders both women passive — and returns to it in the conclusion without simply restating it verbatim.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates effective comparative literary analysis. Rather than summarizing each story separately, the writer identifies shared thematic categories (nature symbolism, loveless marriage, suppressed desire, pessimistic endings) and uses each as a lens to examine both texts simultaneously. This technique shows analytical synthesis rather than mere plot description.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a clear thesis introducing both protagonists and the patriarchy argument. It then moves through three thematic body paragraphs — nature symbolism, loveless marriages, and story endings — before closing with a comparative reflection on each author's narrative strategy. The structure is tightly focused and each paragraph advances the central argument rather than drifting into plot summary.
Introduction: Passive Protagonists and Patriarchy
Elisa Allen is the protagonist of John Steinbeck's short story The Chrysanthemums, and Louise Mallard is the protagonist of Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour. Both Elisa and Louise are products of their social and historical contexts, particularly when it comes to gender norms. Both are passive protagonists because patriarchy has stripped them of political agency. By creating passive protagonists in their respective short stories, Steinbeck and Chopin make powerful social commentary about the role of women in their private and public lives.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour."
Steinbeck, John. "The Chrysanthemums."
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