Question: Consider Mrs. Mallard in "The Story of an Hour" and Edna Pontelier in the Awakening by Chopin. Both of the characters are viewed by some readers as a sympathetic character and by others as an unsympathetic character. (Look up these terms in the glossary.)
Reflect on each of these women and tell me how you characterize them as either sympathetic, unsympathetic or a complex mixture of both and why you feel that way. Analyze their characters carefully and use pertinent details in your analysis.
Remember that you will need to take into account strengths and flaws to support your opinion. Comparing them to one another may help your discussion.
Hint: Examine the primary conflict in each story to see into their characters. Their conflicts are very similar. Be sure to include what that is.