Explore the roles of the women in “The Jewels,” “The Story of an Hour,” and “The Catbird Seat.” Discuss the similarities and differences between Mrs. Barrows, Madame Lantin, and Louise by considering these questions:
Who has the most freedom to be who she wants? Why?
Who has the least amount of freedom? Why?
What other similarities do these three characters have to each other? Any differences?
Explain why you think as you do by using details from all three stories.
Your answer to this question should be at least 2 paragraphs.

Match the definition to the word for a better understanding of the paragraph. 1 money does not buy happiness or security. 2john ringling, one of the five brothers of the ringling brothers circus, started out in 1884 with a trained horse and a performing bear. 3for over forty years, he worked hard at the family enterprise, bought up smaller circuses, and imported new acts. 4in the 1920s, he was rated as one of the world's wealthiest men and owned every sizable circus in the country. 5over 5,000 people were on his payroll, and over 240 railroad cars were in his retinue each time the circus moved. 6at the time of his death, however, he was a nervous, unhappy man; he was also bankrupt and beset by lawsuits. 7his carefully built circus empire passed into alien hands. 8all those years of work had turned to dust. 1. business organization alien 2. group beset 3. without funds to pay debts retinue 4. troubled or harassed enterprise 5. strange; belonging to another person, place, country, or thing bankrupt