Vol. 5, Issue 2, Part B (2023)

To put it simply, marriage is a commitment that could be for life. It's a bond that is strongly connected with love, respect, tolerance, and support. But this is not always the case, which explains why some marriages finish with a divorce or a separation. For Christians, marriage is a gift from God; it is the right atmosphere to engage in sexual relations and build a family life. From the Islamic point of view, marriage is a religious duty, a moral safeguard, and a social commitment. Sociologists define it as a union involving two or more individuals, depending on the society. In most societies, a marriage is a social and legal contract between two people. It's considered the basis and foundation of family. 
Considering the three stories, Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour, Edith Wharton’s The Other Two, and Catherine Ann Porter's Rope, it is clear that marriage doesn’t have the same significance. In the three of them, marriage has a complex nature. The study aims at exploring the issue of marriage in the three works which were published between the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century where the conditions of life of women and their role in society were limited. It was mainly after World War II with the rise of feminist movements that women were more widely heard. The different couples of the three stories are caught in a dilemma; they all have a failed relationship. 
In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is suffocating in her marriage, and she finally dies at the end of the story. She found her freedom in death. The Other Two, is about marriage in general, not specifically the Waythorns and their marriage, but the matter is the same, it is a perplexing and complicated relationship. And finally, in Ann Porter's Rope, the relationship between a husband and wife is ambivalent and embittered. The wife again is frustrated with her husband. The tone of the story here too is melancholic as the image of the rope itself reveals. 
To summarize, this paper demonstrates how the three women writers depict the characters, both males and females, in their failed relationships. Moreover, it explores the stylistic devices used to examine the theme of marriage.