Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Whilst reading the short story The Story of an Hour, I found myself refreshed by the use of detail, in comparison to the last short story. Although this story consisted of rather short paragraphs, made up of two to three sentences, the choice of words made up for the lack words that were used. The story itself was enlightening on the topic of death, showing the different levels of grief one must overcome to feel content once again, and although all of these different phases occurred in a mere hour, it still apprised me and gave me insight on the topic. A scene I found to rather fascinating was the last one, where Brently arrives back home. What I found so intriguing was the fact that beforehand Kate Chopin had stretched out every last detail,

After reflecting the enormity of her husband’s death, and as she began to notice small details, such as the blue patches of blue sky in the clouds, she thinks of the future. While having thoughts about the future, she began to realize how much power she has even without her husband, and from this derives her statement on freedom. She holds onto this forbidden fruit, freedom, and reiles that society won't accept her gratitude towards it, but she prays her feeling of freedom lasts forever. I found it rather empowering how she chooses to flaunt her new freedom and how she accepts it almost immediately, rather than belittling herself and falling under societal norms for widows. Usually, whenever I read a book that portrayed the role of a widow, the characters were almost forced to be held in a constant state of sadness, thus leading the readers, me, to believe that the only emotion a woman, who has lost her husband, can feel is pure grief. From reading those novels, I became biased on this idea, until The Story of an Hour changed my mindset. I also found this moment of “freedom” empowering because it conveys that Mrs. Mallard was oppressed by her husband, even though she states that he was kind and nice to her. By this, Chopin indirectly tells her readers that some marriages, in fact most marriages, are oppressive and patriarchal. So, as a female, this book was not only refreshing to read, but also very empowering to

It was written in the third person, but feels almost too personally written to not be the first person. The details and the vast amounts of emotions that Mrs. Mallard feels at once feels as though Mrs. Mallard, herself, would have had to written down her feelings, and somehow the narrator was able to portray them. Another aspect of Chopin’s writing I found to be intriguing was her use of foreshadowing. In the beginning of the story, when finding out Mr. Mallard had died, only Mrs. Mallard’s sister was able to break the news of the passing. This was due to Mrs. Mallard’s poor heart, which the narrator states in the beginning sentences. This foreshadows to the ending of the book, conveying that something relating to Mrs. Mallard’s poor heart health would occur, which it did. At the end of the novel, the rather abrupt news of her husband's return startles her, leaving the impaired heart even more impaired than before, and thus leading to her death. I found her use of foreshadowing rather clever, for I had read through the story multiple different times, and it wasn't until the third reread, that I noticed