1. The manner, in which a particular author explores the motifs of life and death, never ceases to remain utterly reflective of this author’s unconscious anxieties, in regards to what accounts for the philosophical significance of how the earlier mentioned motifs interrelate. Therefore, when it comes to comparing/contrasting two works of literature (within the context of how the contained motifs of life and death define the overall message of the literary pieces in question), it is important to pay attention to how these motifs provide an insight into the workings of the concerned authors’ mentality. In this paper, I will explore the validity of the above-stated at length, while analyzing the psychological implications of how the specified motifs appear to affect the actual sounding of the short story Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and the short story The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. 2. One of the most notable aspects of how the motif of death reemerges throughout the entirety of Chopin’s story, is the fact that the story’s main character Mrs. Mallard appears to be thoroughly capable of rationalizing the notion in question. As the narrator pointed out: “She (Mrs. Mallard) did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance” (Chopin 1). This, of course, implies that, despite having been a fragile woman, Mrs. Mallard used to be an utterly brave person, capable of perceiving even the most disturbing challenges of life, as they are. Partially, this explains why in the story The Story of an Hour , death is being referred to as something that one should not really be thinking about too much. Apparently, in the psychological sense of this word, Mrs. Mallard was more of a ‘rationally thinking man’ (as opposed to being an ‘irrationally feeling woman’), which is why, upon having heard of her husband’s death, she accepted this news in the thoroughly dignified manner. Given the fact that, throughout the course of her life, Chopin never ceased promoting the cause of feminism, we can suggest that the character of Mrs. Mallard is largely autobiographical. After all, many feminists do make a point in trying to dissociate themselves from the so-called ‘feminine weakness’, the main of which has always been considered women’s tendency to be utterly terrified by the thoughts of death. The suggestion that there must autobiographical overtones to how a particular author goes about exploring the motif of death can also be illustrated, in regards to Hemingway’s short story. The reason for this is that the manner, in which the character of the American refers to the death-related topics, implies him being endowed with the strongly defined ‘masculine’ mentality. For example, while trying to convince his girlfriend (Jig) to consider performing an abortion (which results in death of an unborn child), this character deliberately strives to downplay the associated implications: “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’… ‘It’s not really an operation at all” (Hemingway 2). This, of course, betrays the American as a rather arrogant male, who tends to treat women in terms of a trophy. Given the author’s reputation of