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Theme Of Freedom In The Story Of An Hour

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Recommended: Critical analysis of The story of an hour

Death of Freedom

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin begins as a heart-wrenching tale about a wife losing her husband to a railroad accident. The main character, Mrs. Mallard, has an awful heart condition, so her family has to be extremely cautious when breaking the horrible news to her. After moments of weeping, she makes her way upstairs where she will go through many emotional changes. The theme of freedom and self-realization is shown through Mrs. Mallard. After dealing with pain for years, she comes to a point of peace, relaxation, and, most importantly, hope.
In Mrs. Mallard’s room, she immediately sits down restlessly in a comfortable chair. Kate Chopin explains this motion as “pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul” (Mays 524). By analyzing this quote, one can see that Mrs. Mallard is facing a strong magnitude of pain because she says it reaches down into her very soul. She feels hollow and empty without her husband. After she sits down in the chair, she brings her head up and looks out an open window. This window symbolizes her life and her mind beginning to open and becoming free. Through this window, she sees birds, blue skies, and new spring life. After such a traumatic situation, …show more content…

Mallard thinks of life without her husband, the more she enjoys the idea. She is a “goddess of victory” which means she now has self-possession (Mays 525). She is free from the relentless hold her husband has had over her for so long, and just like goddesses, she is strong and independent. Mrs. Mallard is now at the point of contentment. She has hope for the future and is excited about making her own decisions in life. The whole time that Mrs. Mallard has been having this realization, her sister has been knocking at the door. So, she, feeling like a new woman, makes her way downstairs. To her complete shock, there was her husband, Brently Mallard, standing in the doorway. Mrs. Mallard died

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The reader soon discovers, this feeling that comes to Mrs. Mallard is joy and relief, she feels this because she can now finally be her own person. Mrs. Mallard comes to the realization that her husband had been oppressing her for years, “There would be no powerful will bending..”, and she was finally free of that. Before the passing of her husband, Mrs. Mallard was scared of living a long life because of the treatment she received from him. After his passing she had a much different outlook, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself.” This shows that Mrs. Mallard was excited to now live her own life without being told what she was to do.

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“The Story of an Hour” is written by Kate Chopin. The main character in this story is Louise Mallard, a married woman in the 19th century who has a heart defect, she receives news that her husband died in an accident. After hearing the news of her husband she goes into solitude into her room where she finds herself not has sad about her husband but feeling some relief that she can live her own life and gains a new sense of freedom that she will have in the later days to come. This is where the theme of freedom comes in, this is seen using many literary elements throughout the story some of these would be foreshadowing, irony, and symbols to show Mrs. Mallard new- found freedom from her “late” husband.

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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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In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, after hearing the news of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard’s emotions did not portray sadness or despair instead she was relieved and rejoiced. Even though Mrs. Mallard admits that her husband was kind and loving, she feels joy after hearing the news of her husband’s death that she will no longer be known as Mrs. Mallard. Although it was acknowledged in the story that Louise Mallard loved Bentley Mallard, we can tell by the statement “had never looked save with love upon her,” (Chopin, 1894), the favor was not returned. The main theme we see in this story is the oppression of marriage. Death of her husband shows that Mrs. Mallard finally has freedom.

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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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The Everlasting Symbols of Irony “When the Doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - - of the joy that kills.” (Chopin 4). The Story of an Hour is a short story published by Kate Chopin that consists of a woman who was diagnosed with a heart disease and appears to present a rather complex relationship with her husband who was presumed to be killed in a work-based accident.

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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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828 Words | 4 Pages

Hour of Freedom “The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. It details a wife named Mrs. Louise Mallard, who struggles with a heart condition. After learning of her husband, Brentley Mallard’s death in a railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard deals with grief in many stages. Chopin incorporates many literary devices throughout “The Story of an Hour,” but imagery is the most evident.

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With this belief Mrs. Mallard now looks forward to a long life. Previously to her husband’s death she dreaded the years ahead spent under the thumb of her husband. Now, though, Mrs. Mallard is someone who has much to look forward to and many joys to appreciate. Soon this opportunity is taken from her, just as her chance of freedom is taken from her she learns that Brently is still alive. When Mrs. Mallard sees Brently walk through the front door, the disappointment and the devastation of loss that she suffers cause her heart

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" she kept whispering. The diction that is being used by Mrs.Mallard shows how she is actually feeling about the death of her husband. Mrs. Mallard feels as if she will be free now, freer than she was before since her husband’s death. This provides evidence of male dominance in a patriarchy through diction by Mrs.Mallard stating that she is ready to start a new life right after her husband passes away and the fact she states her body and soul are

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Kate Chopin informs the reader of an important note about Mrs. Mallard: “And yet she had loved him–sometimes. Often she had not” (Para. 15). This woman was not a woman of companionship; she would thrive on being single. However, considering the story’s setting, she would have hit rock bottom if she never chose to marry. Failing to find a husband could have resulted in her living in poverty and dying in extremely poor conditions.

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Kate Chopin wrote a story about Mrs. Mallard, a married woman who suffers from heart problems and also has to cope with her husband recent passing. Mrs.Mallard, she showed sincere grief about her husband passing. However, looking back at how controlling her husband Mr.Mallard were in their marriage, Mrs.Mallard felt a sudden joy when processing her husband death After her sudden emotional change, Mrs Mallard felt liberated when she started thinking about what her life would be like without Mr.Mallard, but regardless of the happiness she feels, she knows that once she sees her husband in corpse that sadness will return. Through her writing, author Chopin readers/ audience would be women who feel trapped and controlled in their marriage. Anger, loneliness and heartbroken are feelings that women who're coping with the death of their loved one feel.

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Kate Chopin introduces her main character as “Mrs. Mallard” to signify her being married. However, within her marriage, she loses herself. Being married, she took her husband’s last name and became a wife. In a way it changed her personality. She was no longer her own self, she was someone else’s “property”.

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(Chopin, the Story of an Hour)” It would be prudent to believe by the way Mrs. Mallard was crying that indeed she was devastated about her husband’s tragic death.

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Universidad de Costa Rica Carlos Contreras Flores B01884 Literary Criticism The Story of an Hour Divided in Two Millenniums Throughout human history, literature has giving people an insight of what the role of women were in different time periods. In most scenarios, literature has served to establish or spot the role of women as secondary, where they were mere subjects or objects of chauvinism. Although the role changes from time to time, it has one particular characteristic, which is the restraining of their liberty or right to choose. In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin illustrates throughout the character’s fate the only way to escape from the gender role that women were meant to have at 19th century. She achieves

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