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Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

819 Words4 Pages

Chopin’s short story "The Story of an Hour" was quite interesting because the title suggested that the story happened in an hour time frame. The story started with a narrator saying “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.”(pg. 278) Richard, a family friend, received a telegram of a train accident earlier that day. On the top of this list was Brently Mallard's name. After confirming it was in fact Mr. Mallard, with a second telegram, Richard asked Josephine to help him break the news to her sister. As one would expect, the recently made widow broke down. When she recovered Louise wished to go to her room. Once in her room …show more content…

Mallard is the main character. She's married to Brently Mallard. Mr. Mallard was believed to be dead at the beginning of the short story. Josephine is the worried sister who helps break the news to Mrs. Mallard. Richard is the family friend that receives the telegram of Bentley's death and helps break the news as well. At the end he tried to block the view of Mrs. Mallard falling over dead in front of her husband. Throughout the entire story we never get a name of the town or a street address. Even without this information, we can still determine that this story takes place in a middle class house in the 1800s. A time when men were still oppressive of woman's right( many rights which women now have today). Knowing the era when this takes place helps us as a reader to understand why Mrs. Mallard reacted to the news of her husband being dead and then alive again. Chopin wrote “The Story of an Hour”, in a way that a person can understand what was going through Mrs. Mallard's mind as the story continued. The sentence structure was different. Commons in areas made you stop ,which, allowed the reader to interpret what was wrote. If the commas and periods were in different places one could easily misinterpret the writing and the meaning. The wording of the story is very formal and lacks the usage of slang words. There is no usage of

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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

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Mallard was not happy in her relationship. Since only the day before she wished that her life would not be long and now after receiving the terrible news that her husband Brantly had died, she wished it would be long, that tells the reader that she was not happy with her husband. She is glad to spend her life doing what she would like to do and not being controlled by her partner. This is indirect characterization because it doesn’t say that she is glad her husband died, but it can be inferred based on the sudden change of mood. In another example, Mrs. Mallard is reflecting and realizes she can now live for herself.

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1206 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the story readers can see Mrs. Mallard being characterized through the ironic events. The story says, “And yet she had loved him - sometimes. Often she had not” (8). This shows how Mrs. Mallard cares for her husband but doesn’t enjoy the power he carries over her, which nobody in the story realizes. “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities.

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With husbands having complete control over their wives, the feeling of being trapped became more prevalent. Despite hearing the news that her husband was listed as dead in an accident, Louise had ¨a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory" (Chopin), a response most people would find inappropriate for someone grieving. As she locked herself in her room alone all day she dreamt of what her life would now be like. When she finally leaves her room, her sister helps her downstairs, unable to imagine how Louise was feeling. As they reach the bottom of the staircase, Louise is overcome with a feeling, "There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully"

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In the 1800's women were looked upon as care givers. They would cater to their husbands and desired freedom for themselves. Back then women strived to do things that they wanted to do, instead of doing the same old house work that they do everyday. When Louise finds out and takes her husbands situation into consideration, she had to be alone to realize how she really felt about her departed husband.

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913 Words | 4 Pages

The plot of the story takes place in Mrs. Mallards mind. This gives us the advantage of knowing what’s going on in her brain,

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Now that Mrs Mallard has had a taste of what it would’ve been like without her husband, she’s sadden. When she sees him she’s in shock and screams it’s to much for her to handle. She was looking forward to her life so simple with shudder. But that takes a turn when the doctor later examines Mrs. Mallard and pronounces her dead because of her weak heart that she had. Although, there is a tragedy to her death it is the end of her repressed life.

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Mallard. The two true themes of this story are loss and irony and Mrs. Mallard embodies both of these. The theme of loss is littered throughout this story; first Mrs. Mallard thinks that she has lost her husband; second she finds out that she has lost her new freedom, and finally Mr. Mallard loses his husband. While many readers may see Mrs. Mallard’s death as the greatest loss, Chopin’s writing suggests that it is instead the loss of new life that Mrs. Mallard has so quickly discovered. She had her entire new life planned out, and it all came crashing down within an hour.

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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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She has no identity as her own; she is just a woman that belongs to Mr. Mallard. After she realizes how free she is, we begin to see her as an actual person. Her emotions and thoughts aren’t about her dead husband anymore; instead it’s about her living without limits. She comes into her own individual person. It is right after these thoughts that we hear her sister calling her Louise.

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The Contrast Of Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

520 Words | 3 Pages

When Richard’s heard the news of her husband’s death, he assumed Mrs. Mallard would be devastated. While everyone knew Mrs. Mallard was “afflicted with heart trouble” (57), him and her sister, Josephine, wanted to give her the news with “great care” (57). Josephine broke the news to Mrs. Mallard in “broken sentences”

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Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin Essay

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Mrs. Mallard feels ecstatic after learning that Mr. Mallard has died. She is excited that now she has this freedom after a marriage in which she felt trapped. Mrs. Mallard is a young woman who

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938 Words | 4 Pages

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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Kate Chopin Similarities

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Mallard, has just been informed that her Husband, Mr. Mallard has passed away. Though Mrs. Mallard feels sorrow, she soon discovers the bright future she will lead with the absence of her antagonizing husband. She begins to think of all the things she will be able to do, that she was restrained from by her husband for so long. It's almost as if at that very moment, a burden was taken from her, and she could finally move on with her life. In the end, her husband returns and the shock of losing her precious future vanishes, causing Mrs. Mallard to have a stroke, and ultimately dying.

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The Story of an Hour is a short story by Kate Chopin. Chopin explores good writing techniques while writing the short drama of an hour. The author makes her story short, with a few sentences and short paragraphs. Some of the good writing techniques present in Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour are irony, symbolism, and avoiding flashback and back ground information.

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