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Louise Mallard Symbolism

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Themes or moral lessons which an author shares often helps the reader understand the story on a deeper level. In The Story of an Hour, the author, Kate Chopin uses three different objects as symbols to develop an idea into the theme of the forbidden pleasure that one gains from independence and can enjoy only in their private life. Firstly, the door that leads into the protagonist, Louise Mallard’s bedroom represents the entrance to her inner thoughts and her safe place away from the rest of society. When she is outside her room, she acts violently and shows grief towards her husband’s death, but: “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her” (74). Initially, Mrs. Mallard plays a role of a stereotypical woman who must …show more content…

Mallard’s death but as soon as she steps foot into her room, her fictitious personality fades away, and she begins to feel the joy of her independent life. The entrance to Mrs. Mallard’s room represents her private life and her ability to think for herself without society weighing her down. Furthermore, the author uses the open window that Mrs. Mallard is looking out from to symbolize the freedom and great opportunities that await her. She sees beautiful creations of nature from the window which exhibits to the readers that she has a whole new life ahead of her: “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (74). This vision of a ‘new spring life’ provides an idea to Mrs. Mallard and the reader of how happy and bright her new near future is; at least for the next hour. But, when she turns away from the window, she turns away from all the freedom and happiness she would have had. At this point, the pressure of society is giving in on her, and she loses the chance of her possible freedom. Lastly, the front door of the house represents the cruel society in which Mrs. Mallard

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This broken down house also symbolizes the family and how they are broken apart from each other. For example from the story, Rex lost any respect he had with his children once he whipped Jeannette, as that was her final straw with him.

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The heart condition can symbolize Mrs. Mallard’s unhappiness in her marital relationship and the absence of free-will over her own life. At first, the heart condition was seen as an obstacle that placed difficulty on telling Mrs. Mallard of her husband’s death, as it could have been a major shock on her heart and potentially caused her to have further heart problems or death. Everyone expected that she would be grief-stricken and shocked over the news

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“The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. It is about a woman named Mrs. Mallard, who had to be informed of her husband’s death very carefully because she had a heart condition. After her sister notified her of the accident her husband was in, she cried and locked herself in her room until she started to accept and appreciate her new-found independence. When Mrs. Mallard came out of the room and walked downstairs with her sister, to her surprise, her husband walked in the front door. Mrs. Mallard had a heart attack from an overwhelming amount of shock and joy.

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338 Words | 2 Pages

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, uses imagery and irony throughout her story, making her story more interesting. The author illustrates imagery to show the audience where the character is and what season the story takes place. Based on the story Mrs. Mallard, main character sits in front of the window looking out “the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (16). By stating this, the reader demonstrate that the character is fascinated and interested to look out the window and letting the audience know that the season in the story is Spring. The author says, “..she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (47), meaning she was happy or accepting whatever was coming to her

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843 Words | 4 Pages

The Story of An Hour Marriage is seen as a partnership where wives and husbands are seen as equal; however, in the 19th century, women were bound to their marriage. What happens when they get a taste of freedom? Louise Mallard is in a traditional marriage when she receives the news of her husband’s passing and begins the process of grief and a new sense of freedom. In Chopin’s story, “The Story of An Hour”, Chopin uses imagery, repetition, and irony to portray Mrs. Mallard’s journey of discovering freedom after her husband’s death. Using the five senses to create a vivid image, the imagery device is present to portray the surroundings of Mrs. Mallard and how they contribute to her journey of freedom.

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899 Words | 4 Pages

One of the most potent symbols in the story is the imagery of the open window, which represents both physical and metaphorical liberation. As Mrs. Mallard gazes out the window, she is confronted with the teasing prospect of a life unrestrained by the constraints of marriage. The open window symbolizes the threshold between captivity and freedom for Mrs. Mallard (Durrer et al. 2010).

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944 Words | 4 Pages

The theme of Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, is freedom, independence, and happiness. Most of the symbolism used in the story is to emphasize the freedom that Mrs. Mallard has

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755 Words | 4 Pages

“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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940 Words | 4 Pages

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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898 Words | 4 Pages

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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1096 Words | 5 Pages

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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913 Words | 4 Pages

Mrs. Mallard goes to her room, and looks out into the patchy blue sky. Chopin uses the patchy blue sky to create an image of darkness clearing out of Mrs. Mallard’s life. When reading the story, a sense of relief comes to mind as Mrs. Mallard thinks of her life ahead without Mr. Mallard. This is when Mrs. Mallard’s character finally starts thinking for herself. She no longer has Mr. Mallard to hold her back.

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654 Words | 3 Pages

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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953 Words | 4 Pages

Another theme that is present is the theme of freedom. At first, she does not have much freedom at all and throughout the duration of they story she is confined in her home. Her newfound freedom gave her much joy but as she left her room, it was cut much too short due to her untimely death. The Story of an Hour has many structural, stylistic, and literary approaches that make it a very powerful

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1346 Words | 6 Pages

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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