Topics Are Discussed, Themes Are Explored

A theme is a central idea that an author wants readers to think about. A topic is a subject dealt with in a text. A theme is not a topic and a topic is not a theme. These literary terms are often confused and used incorrectly. The central idea an author wants a reader to consider is the theme of that literary work; the themes of  “The Story of an Hour,” “Hills Like White Elephants,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” similar to the themes of any literary work, aren't simply topics, but deeper ideas the authors want readers to explore.

In the short story “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses a woman's reaction to her husband’s alleged death to discuss the topic of independence and explore the theme that relationships are inherently oppressive. When Mrs. Mallard was told her husband had died, she is initially overcome with grief, as any new widow is expected to be. Her reaction when the grief subsides is one that is not often thought of  when dealing with someone losing the person they love. As Mrs. Mallard reflects on her love for her husband she realizes that self assertion is much more important than love and whispers, “Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin 14). Her excitement for her newfound freedom and independence is obvious. This independence is a topic that is brought up in this short story; it is directly represented by Mrs. Mallard’s words and actions. As Mrs. Mallard realized her independence, she reflected on her marriage and her intermittent love for her husband she decides,  “What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognizes  as the strongest impulse of her being” (Chopin 14). Mrs. Mallard realizes that love is much less desirable than independence and self-assertion. For her, being a widow was better than being a wife because as a widow she could live her life the way she wanted to and as a married woman she had to live her life the way her husband wanted. The oppression of her marriage was that of her identity. Relationships, especially marriage, require sacrifices of personal time, ideas, and desires. These sacrifices are inherently oppressive, which is why the release of this oppression causes Mrs. Mallard to react the way she did. In losing her husband, she gains back herself and her significance as an individual. This theme of relationships being oppressive provides a deeper understanding of the topic of Mrs. Mallard’s response to her newfound independence.   

Ernest Hemingway explores a different topic but a similar theme in his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants.” Using an unsympathetic male character and a sympathetic female character, Hemingway brings the reader’s attention to the hidden manipulation present in relationships and its impact on personal decisions when one person in the relationship is dependent on the other. As the couple in the bar discusses what is thought to be an abortion, the girl asks, “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?” ​(Hemingway 49). Her dependence on the man she is with is apparent. She relies on him to assure her that having the procedure is the right option and is basing her decision on making him happy instead of thinking about what the best option is for herself. This dependence is a topic discussed in the text. In the end, the man carries the bags to the other side of the train to be loaded. When he comes back he asks the girl if she feels better, “I feel fine,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine” (Hemingway 50). The man carries the bags without hesitation because he has no doubts about the procedure. The girl, previously indecisive, now has made up her mind. According to her, she’s fine. She’s completely fine with the man’s decision to move the bags and to have her have the procedure. It’s the man who decides for her to have the procedure, and it’s the girl who agrees with the man in order to stay with him. Her compliance with the man’s choice exposes how heavily dependent on this man’s love she is. Her dependence is so strong that it drives her to have this procedure solely for the man and not for herself. Her dependence is a topic, but the massive effect it has on her life is a theme.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” also explores power structures within relationships, specifically romantic relationships between a physician and a patient, and how they can lead to a lack of acknowledgement and treatment that can be detrimental to an individual’s well-being. The narrator writes, as she is kept in a room with bolted furniture and a gated window, about her life under the care of her husband. As she describes her husband and how he and her own brother, both physicians, say that there is nothing wrong with her but a temporary nervous depression, she explains their idea of treatment saying, “So I take phosphates or phosphites--whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to "work" until I am well again” (Gilman 96). From the narrator’s perspective, her mental illness is neither acknowledged nor treated by her husband, who’s also her doctor. She’s told that nothing is really wrong with her and that tonics, air and exercise is all she needs to feel better. This lack of acknowledgement and treatment is a topic in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

In the description of her husband she poses this question: “If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression--a slight hysterical tendency-- what is one to do?” (Gilman 96). Her doctor is her husband. This cause a largely uneven power structure, leaving the husband with all control and the wife with none. Her opinion holds no power when the opinion of a high standing position who also loves her is the opposite. This also causes confusion between the professional, doctor patient relationship and the romantic, marital relationship between her and her husband. This intertwined relationship causes one to pose the question of when is he acting as the doctor and when is he acting as her husband. His medical and marital decisions are easily mixed up and incorrectly used. These problems within the relationship are the cause of the lack of acknowledgement and treatment; the theme is the cause of the topic.
A theme is not a moral nor a topic, but morals can be found in themes and themes are expansions of topics. A moral is a lesson concerning what’s right. Chopin, Hemingway, and Gilman all explore themes concerning the negative effects of relationships, but the arguments are not whether being in a relationship is right or wrong. While the theme of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the confusion of roles when a professional and romantic relationship and intertwined, a possible moral of the story is that mixing professional and romantic relationships is wrong. The moral can be found within the theme, but it’s not the theme in itself. Similarly, a topic of a short story is an idea stated or an action that occurs in the text, and the theme is the idea behind that topic that provides deeper meaning and explanation. The topic supports the theme but is not the theme itself. Themes, morals, and topics are intertwined but not equivalent. Literature is complex and in order to analyze it, one must first understand the differences between each aspect of  literary work, including but not limited to themes, morals, and topics.