"The Women's Theme" occupies an important place in the creative heritage of American writers, appearing one of the signs of the historical and cultural process. As one of the dominant themes of American literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it provides the key to understanding women's place in society and their role in the development of social progress. Showing considerable interest in the fate of an American woman, exploring the characteristics of femininity, worldview and values ​​of women, and studying the role of women in various spheres of society, American novelists have strove to reflect the life of the woman , the problems of female emancipation and the feminist movement objectively. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayA characteristic of that time was that in the American family a woman continued to be an exploited being. Since the right to make decisions remained with the man, norms in the family and at work were built according to the patriarchal model; therefore, the involvement of women in professional work would have transformed this exploitation into a double exploitation. According to Erich Fromm, “the domination of men over women is the first act of conquest and the first exploitative use of force; in all patriarchal societies, after the victory of men, these principles have become the basis of men's character” (116). However, the most advanced and cultured part of American women has developed the determination to achieve equal rights with men regarding education, freedom of professional activity, the right to dispose of property and raise children, the freedom to divorce and women's suffrage. The idea of ​​women's equality in the second half of the 19th century encompassed a wide segment of the American public and found expression in the feminist movement, which began to challenge the roles imposed on men and women by society. The theme of the social and moral liberation of women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is one of the main ones in American literature. Among a whole host of talented writers of that time, Kate Chopin and her extraordinary work "The Story of an Hour" and John Steinbeck with his immortal "Chrysanthemums" should be noted. Although the struggle for gender equality, conducted in all possible ways, including literature, was inherent mainly in women, male writers were able to describe the state of the female soul as amazingly as female writers. Despite the difference in the era of writing and the plots of the stories, the key idea - a woman's desire to be fully recognized - remains unchanged in both works. Steinbeck's heroine, Elisa Allen, is a thirty-five-year-old woman who lives in a valley surrounded by mountains and "closed off from everything else in the world," as Steinbeck describes this place. She is a nice, intelligent and interesting woman with a strong character. However, her life, contingent on her marriage to Henry Allen, is not a source of warmth and happiness. Even though her husband is a hardworking person and an exemplary family man, she does not receive full satisfaction from her marriage or life in general. Henry doesn't perceive her the same way, so he treats Elisa like a child and successfully takes care of her. However, all this is not enough for her because she wants something more: she wants a life full of adventures. Instead he must dedicate his life to caring for flowers. In turn, the heroine of "The Story of an Hour", Mrs. Louise Mallard, is a young married woman suffering from heart disease. According to Chopin's description, his beautiful face shows a state of violent submission and at the same timetime a certain hidden inner strength that reflects a sign of determination. As with Eliza, her marriage is a prison, a cage from which there is no escape. She lives without knowing the joy of family life, patiently enduring all the adversities and dislikes of her husband, condemned to such an existence by the will of fate. Therefore, when she is cautiously informed of the death of her husband, who apparently died in a train accident, she is engulfed in a whole gamut of feelings, from a sudden feeling of grief and sadness, to victorious jubilation at the realization of her long dreams . expected freedom. At first glance, in the eyes of the reader, she appears as a selfish and heartless creature, almost a soulless monster, incapable of expressing the mourning that the situation seems to require. But what's behind all this? Long years of solitude spread there, because even being together you can feel alone. The heavy perception of the uselessness of such an existence, which brings nothing but new wrinkles on the face, arises behind that side of his life, which is hidden from the reader. His behavior causes the reader to experience ambivalent emotions. It could be anger, due to the fact that Louise allows herself to go through deep feelings within her, which society in that situation would consider immoral. On the other hand, it could be a sense of compassion and understanding of the reasons for his actions. This understanding comes at a moment when the reader is invited to feel the air of freedom that Louise eagerly breathes through the open window. "The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a hawker was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song that someone was singing reached her faintly, and sparrows innumerable chirped in the gutters". Her sudden death, when she sees her husband alive and unharmed, puts things back in order. The news of the train accident was a mistake he didn't even suspect; he then returns home without warning, causing his wife to have a heart attack. The doctor's conclusion that she died unable to cope with the joy that flooded her at the sight of a living husband seems plausible, but it is not true. Indeed, her heart cannot bear the deepest disappointment arising from the realization that all her hopes for a free and happy life suddenly collapse... According to Freud, Louise's internal conflict lies in the confrontation between her innate desires or "ID ", governed by libido and public opinion or by the "Superego" (Kagan, Segal 336-337). Then she enters her consciousness or "I" trying to find a balance between the "principle of pleasure" and the "principle of morality", which strive to prevent her from feeling that vague sensation that she initially cannot determine: something was happening to her . and she waited for him, fearful. What was it? She didn't know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she could feel it, crawling out of the sky, reaching out to her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was coming to possess her, and she was trying to push it away with her will, as helpless as her two thin white hands would be. However, she eventually gave herself over to it completely, remaining in her room. He cannot show his jubilation in public because this is unacceptable. Relatives expect him to show pain, which he successfully demonstrates, but fate arranges otherwise, and his inner triumph and liberation from the shackles of an oppressive marriage are transformed into intolerable bitterness by the realization of the shipwreck of his dreams. At this moment, the reader may be puzzled by the question: to what extent his own life should be disgusted,that only the death of a spouse seems to her to be a way to free herself from suffering?! Elisa's story is not so tragic but no less dramatic. His life seems quite predictable; a series of boring days awaits her, as similar as two drops of water. Since her vain attempts to get into the ranch business are condescendingly rebuffed by her husband, and the absence of children deprives her of the opportunity to experience the joys of motherhood, all this is left to the ambitious Elisa, who takes care of the house and of his favorite chrysanthemums, because in this he finds his joy. However, his peaceful existence is disturbed by a wandering household utensil repairman. His unusual image and, probably, her sexual dissatisfaction combined with a rich imagination push her to flirt with him, but he sees a completely different interest in their conversation. In an attempt to sell her unnecessary services, a shrewd traveler applies various ways to make her more compliant, first trying to soften up to her, then praising his own professional qualities, thus looking for her weak point. Using his discernment, he shows a feigned interest in his passion – chrysanthemums – and even then doesn't get there right away. “They have an unpleasant odor, you get used to it,” he said. "It's a nice bitter smell," she retorted, "it's not unpleasant at all." He quickly changed his tone. “I like the smell too” (Steinbeck 232). Eliza, touched by his interest, has no doubts about the purity of his intentions, so she opens her soul to him and becomes more benevolent, giving him the opportunity to earn money. However, the tinker, having received what he wanted, namely money for the work done, leaves her with confused feelings. After his departure, she feels completely devastated, which leads one to assume how unhappy her marriage is because some wandering traveler could easily inflame her. During a conversation with him, she describes her feelings and desires so vividly, as if she is just waiting for this moment to open up for him. “I've never lived like you, but I know what you mean. When the night is dark, well, the stars are pointed and there is silence. Because you always rise higher! Each sharp star gets stuck in your body. That's how it is. Warm, sharp, and…lovely” (Steinbeck 234). Evidently he is often unable to express himself, because there is no one who appreciates him. In an attempt to cope with her feelings, she tries to joke with her husband, then expresses a desire to participate in bloody fights between men, and finally to drown her sorrows in wine, but none of these ideas seem to give her complete satisfaction. The reason for his emotional confusion is a state of frustration, linked to unsatisfied needs. Here the emptiness is due to the dissatisfaction of his natural needs for love and recognition. According to Abraham Maslow's theory, human needs are innate and located on multiple levels, from simple to more complex ones, ranging from physiological ones such as eating, sleeping, sex to self-realization needs (McLeod). it is true that man lives on bread alone - when there is no bread. But what happens to man's desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically full? Other (and "superior") needs immediately emerge and these, more than physiological hunger, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, needs emerge again (and still "higher") and so on. This is what we mean by saying that basic human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative overpowering. To free himself from constant internal mental stress, he directs all his energies into caring for flowers, using the protective mechanism that Freud called sublimation: Sublimation is the defense mechanism in which impulses or desires socially.