Woolf vs. Chopin

After reading A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf and The Kiss by Kate Chopin, I have come to the obvious conclusion that their stylistic usage varies deeply. Woolf is complex, Chopin is simple. In Woolf's short story, her point of view seems to shift at sudden times, with no indication of it happening. I'm pretty sure there there's three (?) different characters she revolves around: the ghost couple, the house, and the living flesh couple that reside in the house. Even after reading the short story three times over, I still do not understand the objective or the resolution of the plot. All I know is that the ghost couple were searching for love aka their buried treasure (?) and the house was keeping it hidden from them aka the repetition of the phrase "safe, safe, safe" (?). On the other hand, Chopin is straightforward. The point of view is easy to follow; the conflict was obviously Harvy kissing the narrator in front of the her future husband, Brantain. Once again, there is also love in this short story and someone (or something) is trying to deprive the couple of that. The conflict is solved after the narrator discusses with Brantain about the misunderstanding and they end up getting married. Simple and only have to read the story once to comprehend all of the events. Both authors lived in the same era (late 1800s-early 1900s) so what gives? The answer is actually quite ironic in a way- they are using contrasting literary devices. Woolf focuses on the actual literary terms such as the parallelism, personification, and harsh imagery. While Chopin makes her plot and message strong, giving it more entertainment. Each author thought literature was something else. The missing link: literature is everything- the literary resources that provoke hard thinking and the sweet happy endings that make a reader have hope. Woolf and Chopin's backgrounds also differ from one another, which may give insight to their literature techniques. Woolf was institutionalized after having nervous breakdowns, therefore, giving her a more stable composure in the strict way of writing. While Chopin grew up reading fairy tales and having to live in poverty, so one may assume, she sometimes wrote short stories with a more peaceful plot and an effortless read. Both authors were equally amazing at achieving literature momentum, especially for deprived women in the early twentieth century. Personally, I don't favor either of the authors over the other one. I respect each of their personal writing choices and I definitely recommend both authors (but if you decide on Woolf, definitely be seated comfortable enough to sit there for an hour trying to decode her five-page story).

Raskolnikov's Sufferings

The extravagant novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, truly exemplifies the quote “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. After murdering a pawnbroker and her sister for the good of humankind, Raskolnikov, a deprived student in Russia, succumbs into a miserable depression full of hallucinations, illusions, and changing moods. He struggles between deciding whether he is part of the “extraordinary” humans, who can kill with moral reasoning, versus “ordinary” humans, who are just plain citizens that must obey the laws. This outrageous theory lets Raskolnikov believe that his criminal activity is justified. Yet, after the action is complete, Raskolnikov realizes a little too late, that he is overcome with guilt and grieves for over a month. (To his dismay, he realizes that he is only an ordinary human.) Within this time, Raskolnikov goes through several trials of hardship including his sister being engaged to a monstrous man, meeting a drunkard with a broken down family, being psychologically tortured by the police investigator, and being blackmailed by a rich man. All of these dilemmas plus his own hypochondria caused Raskolnikov to fall into several horrible, delirious illnesses that lasts anywhere between a few hours to days. What seems like an eternity later, Raskolnikov finally decides to face his suffering and confesses his wrongdoings to the police. He is forced to complete eight years in the Siberian prison, full of hateful criminals and physical labor. Yet, Raskolnikov is not alone. A good thing has come from this suffering: Sonia, the daughter of the drunkard that Raskolnikov met in a bar. Sonia believes in this man who has little hope for life and follows him all the way to the rough prison. After nine months of imprisonment, at the very end of the book, Raskolnikov learns what it means to be loved and wanted. Therefore, at the very end of the book, he looks forward to a new life once he gets out of confinement. After all of these illnesses, dreadful situations, and finally going to prison for his sins; after all of his psychological nonsense talks to himself, going into roundabouts with the police, and facing mental torment every day for many months before, during, and after the murder, Raskolnikov is finally free from his own problematic thoughts. Raskolnikov had to go through his own hell, before he was able to start slowly healing his mental illness. So yes, Raskolnikov was strong enough to say that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. One does not suffer for any simple reason.