Two stories written by women that might illustrate the position of women in the Victorian marriage a little:
The first one is Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” (Read it here online). “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a 6,000-word short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in 1891 in New England Magazine. It is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature, and illustrates attitudes in the 19th century toward women’s physical and mental health, and their (in)ability to make their own life choices.
The second story is Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour.” It was originally published in the December 6, 1894 issue of Vogue magazine under its original title, “The Dream of an Hour”. It describes a woman’s reaction to the news of her husband’s sudden death and to the subsequent news that he is, in fact, alive. The story exemplifies Chopin’s beliefs regarding women’s roles in marriage and feminine identity. You can read it online here
Despite what it might seem like, I found both these stories very interesting and enjoyable to read!
And while we’re on the subject of female writers, check out this very interesting post about Lady Murasaki of Japan!
Hi! My name is Geerte, I'm a researcher of Nineteenth century history from the Netherlands. This blog is where I write about my favourite subject. Feel free to browse around! 
“The Story of an Hour” is one of my favorite short stories. It left a huge impact on me when I first read and studied it in college. I still think about it sometimes and the emotions the woman in the story went through: from grief to freedom to despair. Quite powerful!
It really is! The best thing about it I think is that you can read it from a feminist / society criticism point of view, or just read it as a silly story without much further implications. I think that’s what makes it really great.
You can also listen to The Yellow Wallpaper on http://www.librivox.org :) Lots of Dickens and Austen too.
Oh, you’re right, that’s great! Thank you :)
Hi Basje!
Kate Chopin is one of my favorite authors. I had to study her writings when I took Southern Literature (southern US) in graduate.
A very nice and classy post here as always, and thanks for providing a link here to my post on Lady Murasaki:))
I am in the 9th grade and we recently read Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour. It is a phenomenal story that gives great examples of the way of life in the Victorian era. This was an exquisite story and it has greatly captured my interest.
Thanks for posting those! I once read The Story of an Hour, but it would have stayed buried in the back of my brain if I hadn’t just re-read it!
I like what you guys are up to. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the excellent works guys. I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my website. :)
Well, I am currently writing a research paper on The Yellow Wallpaper and comparing medical misdiagnosis on hysteria then and now. I find that the story in The Yellow Wallpaper could be attributed to what we know now to be Post-Partum depression also.