Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” reflects the author’s personal view of the oppression of marriage through insight into the inner thought process of the main character, Louise Mallard. In 1871, Katherine Chopin married Oscar Chopin, but their life together came to an end when Oscar died in 1883 from swamp fever. Although the two had what would be described as a happy marriage, Chopin discovered a newfound freedom and independence through her husband’s death. She began writing and publishing controversial stories that presented a different perspective on relationships and female independence (Chopin 51). In Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, Louise Mallard’s heart disease is perceived to be much more than just a physical ailment, but also symbolizes her trouble with marriage and deep longing for self-assertion.

Mallard [is] afflicted with a heart trouble, great care [is] taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (52). Her disease is perhaps the most important piece of information presented in the whole story. It can be interpreted in a very literal sense in that she does in fact have a heart disease, however a heart also universally symbolizes love and there are many indicators in the story that there is an underlying issue of love or marriage trouble. Chopin allows readers insight into these reflective thoughts of Louise, regarding her relationship with her deceased husband, Brently: “And yet she loved him-sometimes. Often she had not” (53). Louise and Brently were obligated to keep their marriage together because divorce was not an option at this time. Their relationship was not necessarily an abusive one, but more realistically just unhappy with only an social obligation to be dependent on one