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Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

1968 Words8 Pages

Heart Trouble “The Story of an Hour” is a short story by Kate Chopin which portrays marriage, freedom and death by using a clever style of writing that captivates readers. Kate Chopin wrote this short story in 1894, a time that is known for women not having any power or say in anything because of the way society was constructed. The protagonist of this story, Mrs. Louise Mallard, experiences grief as well as loss that turn into the exhilarating feeling of freedom when she learns of her husband’s death. Though, as the hour progresses she learns the truth that her husband is alive which in turn causes a great shock and leads to her death. Thus, the author provides the reader with an ironic story that gives a different view on what it was like …show more content…

This can be seen when she fees free in a confined room, or how her weak heart sets her free from her husband through death. The author also sets up a subtle melancholy tone to the story that leaves the reader thinking and analyzing the sad events that occurred in the hour. She also use her tone to point out the cruelty idea of marriage at the time and how Mrs. Mallard thought it was a crime which left her powerless because she was a woman. Throughout this short story symbolism is quite clear. For example, when Mrs. Mallard is characterized with heart trouble. In truth it is physical, she does have a delicate hear, but also does have some foreshadowing of her emotional problems that lie with in her heart due to her marriage. It is exactly because of the emotional problems she has against her marriage it is easier to dismiss her husband’s passing and lead her to embrace her new feeling of freedom. The narrator also does make her seem as if she were a child. For example, “as a child who has cried herself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.” The narrator compares her sorrow to that of a child which can mean she is trapped in her own thoughts since children tend to be more wary about their thoughts. Another symbolism that can be found s when “she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” which can be thought of as a bird opening his wings after being hurt for some time. Now that bird has the free will to travel and go anywhere it

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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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As they were in the house most of the times they were more private, non-sensual and pure. Not only women had difficulty in houses but also they were discriminated in workplace as older women and married women were refused to be hired as well as they had to continue to do low-wage, semi-skilled and seasonal employment as they were thought to be passive, irrational and weak in thinking. With the context of the story, as she might have been in the house for long time serving husband having unhappy married life which seemed to be long. She did not realize that she could live for herself until she heard the news of her husband being death.

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Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the readers to contemplate a hidden meaning woven into the story line. Mr. Mallard is assumed to die in a railroad accident, leaving Mrs. Mallard devastated. Instead of feeling sadness or grief, Mrs. Mallard actually feels free. "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" (Page 499).

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The Contrast of The Story of an Hour While Mrs. Mallard is just starting a new life, so to say, for herself, her life she has known comes to an end. She is just able to become “free, free, free!” (57) when she loses her life. Kate Chopin uses contrast with the news Richard’s gave, the way Mrs. Mallard felt in the room and the doctor’s news to show how women perceived marriage in the 19th century in her story The Story of an Hour.

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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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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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" 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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The first story I chose is called ''The Story of An Hour'' , by Kate Chopin. This story is about a wife and a husband named Mr., and Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard has very bad heat trouble. Someone found out about a railroad accident and Mr. Mallard was in it. Her sister Josephine was going to try and tell her as gentale as possible.

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“The face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But 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.” This moment in “The Story of an Hour,” is relatable to Kate Chopin's own life. Though Kate loved her husband dearly, she was restricted from a lot of the things she wanted to pursue.

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The “Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin was undeniably a roller-coaster ride. I certainly did not know how to act while reading the story because I felt particularly sympathetic towards Louise. Yet, I felt extremely agitated. The fact that Mrs. Mallard’s first name remained unmentioned until her husband’s death was amusing.

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From this part we can find that women seem determined to be fragile and hopeless when facing some desperate situations, and women couldn’t live without their husband since their fate is in their husband’s hand. Although Mrs. Mallard do have some of the common reactions with the “other women”, she still have something more precious – her independence and strong in her inner

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Kate Chopin is the author of the most popular short story "The Story of an Hour". Chopin paints a bleak picture of marriage in this story. It is a short story focusing on a young married woman of the late nineteenth century as she reacts to the news that her husband has died in a train accident. The story was written in a time period when women did not really have right to express their feeling and desire. Women were supposed to stay home and take care of the family whereas the husbands went out to work.

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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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