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Death In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

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"The Story of an Hour" was written by Kate Chopin, an American writer that was best known for her short stories following the lives of sensitive women, in 1894. "The Story of an Hour" is set in the late nineteenth century in the Mallard residence, the genre being considered that of "modern feminist literature." The story starts off by introducing Mrs. Mallard and the heart disease that she has. It is also revealed that her husband, Mr. Mallard, had been killed in what was to be a railroad disaster and because of her weak heart they wanted to break it to her gently. In "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin addresses the theme of death through the character Louise Mallard.

Anyone from the outside looking in would have thought Mrs. Mallard …show more content…

Mallard's sister, and Richards, Mr. Mallards friend, weren't quite sure how to break the news of Mr. Mallard's death to his wife with the fear of her potentially dying from the news, due to her heart condition. Josephine breaks the news to her sister as gently as possible and Mrs. Mallard breaks out into tears and immediately goes upstairs to her room wanting to be alone. While upstairs in the room she stands looks out the window contemplating the news she found a not too long ago. After listening to all of the sounds of spring she realizes that she isn't really sad about her husband's death. "Free, free, free" is what she whispered once she noticed the type of joy she was feeling (Chopin 2). She feels as though even though she loved him, sometimes, she is now finally free from his "powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a will upon a fellow-creature"(Chopin 2). Although it may seem as if Louise never cared for her husband in the first place, "his demise allows Louise freedom to breed her self-determination. She imagines how all the oncoming years would be reserved solely for her; she would take life into her own hands (Ahmetsphaic and Kahric

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Louise expresses, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature”(Chopin 2). This quote shows how Mrs. Mallard feels about no longer being controlled since her husband's death. Now that her husband is gone, she can finally live for herself and no one

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Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is a short yet powerful story that centers on the character of Mrs. Mallard, who experiences a range of emotions in just one hour. Mrs. Mallard's initial reaction to the news of her husband's death is shock and grief, but her emotions shift as she sits alone in her room. She experiences a sense of freedom and joy that she has never felt before, and this realization ultimately leads to her tragic death. Mrs. Mallard from "The Story of an Hour" is a complex character who embodies many emotions and experiences. She can be described in many ways, but four adjectives that accurately capture her character are repressed, liberated, fragile, and conflicted.

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In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” demonstrates the personal growth of the dynamic protagonist Louise Mallard, after hearing news of her husband’s death. The third-person narrator telling the story uses deep insight into Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts and emotions as she sorts through her feelings after her sister informs her of her husband’s death. During a Character analysis of Louise Mallard, a reader will understand that the delicate Mrs. Mallard transforms her grief into excitement over her newly discovered freedom that leads to her death. As Mrs. Mallard sorts through her grief she realizes the importance of this freedom and the strength that she will be able to do it alone.

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Every person has the right to be and feel free. They have the right to be independent and live happily. Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences a revelation about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive.

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When Richard’s heard the news of her husband’s death, he assumed Mrs. Mallard would be devastated. While everyone knew Mrs. Mallard was “afflicted with heart trouble” (57), him and her sister, Josephine, wanted to give her the news with “great care” (57). Josephine broke the news to Mrs. Mallard in “broken sentences”

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Chopin also describes Mrs. Mallard as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength”. At the beginning Mrs. Mallard is thought of as being controlled, and weak. In the 19th Century, when this story was written, husbands controlled their wives. Perhaps Mrs. Mallard wasn’t like most women of her time. After she hears of her husband’s death she morns for what feels like only a moment.

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Now she is no longer pitiful and heartbroken but joyful and excited for a life free of her husband’s dominant presence. The story says for the first time in her life, Mrs. Mallard prays for a long life. Gary Mayer describes Mrs. Mallard’s new situation by writing: "Louise's joy, it may be argued, is her thought of being single, not the realization that her husband is alive"(Mayer 95). When this change occurs, Chopin expresses Louise Mallard’s new found freedom by finally using her first name rather than her surname as she writes, “Louise, open the door!”(Chopin 237). This signifies the rebirth of a woman formally suppressed by the name of her husband; she is no longer defined by someone else, but she defines herself and her

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Upon learning of her husband 's death, Mrs. Mallard realizes and starts to believe that she is now free. Free to be herself and not worrying about anyone else. She repeats the words "Free, free, free!" and feels her body come alive. Her pulse beats faster; her blood runs warmer; her eyes brighten (paragraph 11). Mrs. Mallard sees the chance to live out the rest of her days for herself; she sees the opportunity to be her own person without a husband or anybody else to care for.

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In the story which took place in the 1800s, Louise, known for having heart trouble, believes her husband has passed away and is relieved with her newly found freedom in secret. However, once she finds out that her husband is alive, Louise passes away from the shock of having her freedom stripped as fast as it was given to her. Louise’s feeling of being trapped within herself was a thought that had been in her head for a while. This was apparent by the quote where Chopin says, “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (202).

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Chopin captures the complete essence of the moment in the following quote; “She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (Chopin). The fact that Louise envisions these years free of her husband in such a positive light ultimately suggests that she was oppressed by the marriage. Louise is also described as "a goddess of Victory" when she emerges from her room, illuminating this epiphany as the high point in Louise’s

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Chopin use imagery to explain Louise's’ new life and the

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The Short Story The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin explores the emotions of Louise Mallard a woman with a heart disease. In the hour that the story is told, it ranges from showing Mrs. Mallard different reactions to learning of her husbands death to him surprisingly showing up alive and eventually her untimely death from a heart disease. Although only a brief period of time is shown, many emotions are revealed through the third person omniscient point of view. This point of view shows more than just the protagonists thoughts and is not limited to one person. It allows the readers to know something about Mrs. Mallard that she does not as the story ends after Mrs. Mallard has already died.

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Self-Identity and Freedom The story of an hour by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to her husband’s death. In this short story, Chopin portrays the complexity of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as she is saddened yet joyful of her loss. Kate Chopin’s story argues that an individual discovers their self-identity only after being freed from confinement.

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The story of an Hour Critical Analysis through a Psychological Perspective using both Freud and Lacan’s theory approach. In the beginning of the story, the Chopin informs the audience of Mrs. Mallard serious heart condition. Her friends and family were worried how to break the news to her of her husband’s death. After giving it much thought Mrs. Mallard was given the news as gently as possible of her husband’s death.

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Chopin clearly states that women felt that they lost their freedom and that they were just mere prisoners of marriage. Mrs. Mallard’s tragedy is a good example to understand that women were unhappy and depressed, since society forced them to play a secondary role, where happiness and independence cannot be achieved. Kate Chopin, in reality, lost her husband, and perhaps she wrote ‘The Story of an Hour’ to tell that she could not find freedom with her husband’s death, and that the character’s fate was the only possible way to find it, not only for herself but for most women as

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