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Feminist Relationship In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

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Kate Chopin is a feminist author who lived from 1850 to 1904, but she did not start her career until the death of her husband. Kate Chopin pieces of work focused on the females going against societal norms and taking charge of their own life. The Story of an Hour explores the thought process of a newly widowed wife as she begins to understand the full consequences of her husband's death, which means a new found freedom, but she has it taken away in the end. The Story of an Hour is a feminist response to the confines of marriage because it challenges the unequal power relations between husband and wife. I will be discussing the concepts of identity, free will, and material possession that appear in the Story of an Hour. Marriage begins with a vow between a man and a women; where it is promised by both that they will stick together until death separates them. the reality of marriage is that the women is forced to adopt the surname of her husband, live under his roof and move if his career demands it, therefore becoming an extension of her husband's identity, rather than have her own. The introduction of every character in the Story of an Hour includes their first name except our protagonist, who is introduced as Mrs. Mallard. This is important because a first name is an identifying characteristic of an …show more content…

Mallard is described as having wrinkles that “bespoke repression” to show that her voice and free will has been repressed in marriage. When Chopin wrote The Story of an Hour females had few career opportunities, and lacked the ability to vote, so Mrs. Mallard is used as an archetype of the voiceless women in marriage and society. The argument put forward shows that it is wrong that females must be without the “possession of self assertion” in marriage and life instead they should be on equal footing with males. Chopin uses the setting in the Story of an Hour to further display the power dynamics because the housewife is merely a guest in her husband’s

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Someone who will cherish them for all eternity. In a close examination of the way Louise Mallard, the protagonist of “The Story of an Hour”, and Delia, the protagonist of “Sweat”, react to their encounters with their marriages demonstrates that authors Kate Chopin and Zora Neale Hurston both use short stories to tell similar stories about the difficulties of their emotional states in their marriages. First, it is seen that Louise Mallard is an unchanging character who values her freedom from her marriage. Throughout the story it becomes obvious how self-centered Louise Mallard is.

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Kate Chopin was born named Catherine O’Flaherty in St.Louis on February 8, 1850. Chopin was brought up in a home dominated by women. Her father, a successful Irish businessman died when she was five years old. Her mother was Eliza Faris came from a old French family that lived closely to St.Louis. Chopin spent her childhood in a attic constantly reading new books as well as being told stories about her great-great-grandmother who was a very successful person.

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"The Story of an Hour": Rhetorical Appeals "The Story of an Hour" is a rather sad and short essay, but is filled with description and the main rhetorical appeals. Such as logic, credibility, and emotion; the writer Kate Chopin does an excellent job at displaying these. Therefore aiding her in expressing what it is like to be a wife and the struggles of marriage in the late 1800 's. She also expresses that you can never really know the truth unless you really look, and it took the death of her husband to realize that she was unhappy in her marriage.

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What common themes bond together the literary works of the 1800’s? Frederick Douglass and Kate Chopin both realized that people were not being treated fairly and thus it influenced their writing. Through personal experiences and observations Frederick Douglass conveyed how African Americans in My Bondage and My Freedom were treated unfairly. Kate Chopin used the plot to show how women were treated unfairly in “The Story of an Hour”. My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass tells of some of the experiences he went through as a slave.

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1004 Words | 5 Pages

Mallard, and the girlfriend want to communicate how they feel and do not want to be constrained. Chopin was a feminist which encouraged her to write The Story of an Hour. Women do not want to feel possessed and want to be self-asserted (Chopin, 2004). Women are told to respect their marriages and must abide to society. Mrs. Mallard feels free of duties when she understands that her husband has deceased.

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In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they cared about women’s political rights, their property and their body liberty. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality and poor women to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexuality, their self-identity and women’s own strength. When people were ashamed of talking about sexuality, Kate Chopin stood out and call for women’s sexual autonomy.

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In Kate Chopin 's novel The Awakening and the short story “The Story of An Hour” feminist beliefs overshadow the value in moral and societal expectations during the turn of the century. Due to Louise Mallard and Edna Pontellier Victorian life style they both see separating from their husband as the beginning of their freedom. Being free from that culture allows them to invest in their personal interest instead of being limited to what 's expected of them. Chopin 's sacrifices her own dignity for the ideal of society’s expectations. Chopin 's sad, mysterious tone seems to support how in their era, there was a significant lack of women 's rights and freedom of expression.

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Leeanna Whittle Ms. Hutto English 3-1st 26 February 2016 Gender Stereotypes as far back as the 19th Century Kate Chopin is an American author who lived in the 19th century (Wyatt). Kate Chopin is known for being way beyond her time (Evans 262). She wrote about emotions and conflicts no other author of her time would ever think to write about (Evans 262). She grew up with two powerful women, her mom and grandmother, who influenced her views on society (Wyatt).

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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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Literary Analysis “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to the sudden death of her husband. Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as sad, yet happy that her husband has been killed. Kate Chopin’s “ The Story of an Hour” argues that when a person is controlled and made to live under another person their mental state of mind is affected. The story also argues that when that person is freed from the controlling person their true self can finally be achieved. Kate Chopin portrays these themes by the use of character development; plot control, and irony throughout the story.

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727 Words | 3 Pages

Growing up as a woman has been quite difficult in this generation, however, growing up around thirty years ago must have been more difficult. Back in the 1900’s, women had different social norms to deal with in society. Women had to stay at home, be housewives, do the laundry, and cook while men went out and worked to obtain money for their family. In Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, she tells the struggles that women went through back in the 1990 's and the social norms that women had to go through. Chopin addresses many instances of symbolism to portray the feeling Mrs. Mallard has about her own thoughts and experiences with or without a man in her life.

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This shows a balance between gender roles, as well as the embracing progressive changes within culture and society. In the story “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, a third-person omniscient narrator, relates how Mrs. Louise Mallard, the protagonist, experiences the euphoria of freedom rather than the grief of loneliness after hearing about her husband’s death. Later, when Mrs. Mallard discovers that her husband, Mr. Brently Mallard, still lives, she realizes that all her aspiration for freedom has gone. The shock and disappointment kills Mrs. Mallard.

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In the story “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin demonstrates the role of marriage in defining the individual by contrasting and highlighting the value individuals place on the marriage and love that they consider theirs. "The Story of an Hour" is a short story the author,Kate Chopin, presents a dreadful often unheard of view of marriage. Chopin 's main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, experiences the happiness of freedom rather than the desolation of loneliness after she learns of her husband 's death. Later

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770 Words | 4 Pages

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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