Historically, women have been treated as second-class citizens. The Napoleonic Code stated that women were controlled by their husbands and could not freely do their own will without their husband's authority. This article shows how this is evident in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" and William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." In both stories, the use of literary elements such as foreshadowing, symbolism, and the significant meaning of the titles are essential in bringing the reader to an unexpected and ironic conclusion. The background of both authors, originally from the South, allows us to conclude how they could describe the situations they faced, such as political and social problems, especially for women at that time. The story explains how Chopin wrote how women should be "seen but not heard." "The wife cannot defend herself in her own name, without the authority of her husband, even if she were a public trader, or a non-communicant, or separated in property." (Kreis 1) This is one from the Napoleon Code that shows that women had no rights and positions at that time. However, after World War II, most men went to war and let women, who made them, finally get the freedom to do anything or everything they wanted because they had to do it to survive. Chopin's stories feel very modern in several ways. ways, even though it was written about two hundred years ago. Chopin says that "...he does not always believe that marriage necessarily requires a wife to be dominated by her husband,..." (Oklopcic 19) and was trying to show that women can get along without the man interfering . The story represents a disregard for the way women are treated in some relationships and even in society. “Her concern for… middle of paper… normal life, such as Emily turning into a murderer, killing her own boyfriend, and Louise Mallard dying after living her “real life” for an hour , she apparently felt free from repression during her husband's death and eventually died of heart disease when she learned that her husband was alive. Works Cited Chopin, Kate "The Story of an Hour of American Literature" Ed. James E. Miller 2 . Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanich, 1991. 487. Print.Faulkner, William “A Rose for Emily.” 10th ed.: XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia New Yorkk: Pearson Longman, 2007. 29-34. Kreis, S. (2001). July 15, 2010, http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/code_nap.htmlOklopcic, Biljana and the Native Keystone: Reading (Beyond) the American South