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Mallard's Oppression

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Recommended: Themes in the story of an hour

In the short story, originally published by Vogue magazine as The Dream of an Hour, Kate Chopin informs the reader of the emotional rollercoaster Mrs. Mallard was forcibly taken on after she discovers her husband has supposedly died in a railroad mishap. Fearing Mrs. Mallard's heart disease may erupt with violent consequences, Mallard's sister, Josephine, reluctantly informs Mallard of her husband's demise. However, it is not the news of her husband's death that results in her heart disease flaring, but instead, the realization that her partner has not passed, and she must continue to endure the torment of living with him. This story highlights the underlying problems in relationships that are not visible to the public and shows the reader how these complications can affect the members within these relationships. …show more content…

Chopin does an excellent job at portraying this concept, as it is not until after readers are midway through the story that they begin to realize the honest feelings being experienced by Mrs. Mallard. It is originally thought that Mallard had been destroyed by the news of her husband's passing as she "wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms." (Chopin 396) However, as readers progress through the story, new thoughts begin to enter Mrs. Mallard's mind, and readers begin to understand her honest feelings towards her lover's demise. "The vacant stare and look of terror"(Chopin 397) had escaped her eyes, and was replaced by a look of hope and reassurance. What was once undetectable, is now apparent, and the readers understand how they were fooled by Mallard's earlier actions. This demonstrates how challenging it is to discover these problems in a relationship without having a direct view to the events taking place behind closed

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Chopin makes her strong statement in this quote from the story. Mrs. Mallard has no one to answer to but herself, and she feels liberated that her husband can no longer control her. During the late nineteenth century, women quite frequently had to suppress themselves to the will of their husbands, or to some other man who had a significant amount of control over their lives. Chopin successfully uses vivid imagery, point of view, and irony that gives a different view of marriage that is not typical of today.

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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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Literary Analysis “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to the sudden death of her husband. Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as sad, yet happy that her husband has been killed. Kate Chopin’s “ The Story of an Hour” argues that when a person is controlled and made to live under another person their mental state of mind is affected. The story also argues that when that person is freed from the controlling person their true self can finally be achieved. Kate Chopin portrays these themes by the use of character development; plot control, and irony throughout the story.

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In Story of an Hour, the whole central point of this short story is to discuss Mrs. Mallard 's heart condition. After reading the story the first time, it came about that this heart condition means a lot more than you think. Mrs. Mallard 's heart condition symbolizes the troubles that she encounters having a husband. For example, if Mrs. Mallard didn’t have this heart condition, she would still possess emotional heart trouble in her relationship.

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Mallard reaches a sense of exuberant liberation. She is overwhelmed with feelings of a newfound freedom. Chopin illustrates this burst of hope once again through nature imagery when she writes, “But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air”(Chopin 237). Though Mrs. Mallard tries, she cannot fight the growing sense of freedom that overtakes her. Chopin writes this change as a powerful realization that Mrs. Mallard cannot help but accept.

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In “Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin uses her contemporary setting to back the narrative. These characters could not be said to think, as we’d do today. Marriage being a well-nigh irrevocable compact, and certainty of feminine submission are alien concepts to our modern hearts, yet taken for granted in our story’s era. When we register these conditions the story unfolds in a less woolly manner. The shock of her husband’s sudden reversal being lethal to Mrs. Mallard seems strange to me.

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Kate Chopin wrote a story about Mrs. Mallard, a married woman who suffers from heart problems and also has to cope with her husband recent passing. Mrs.Mallard, she showed sincere grief about her husband passing. However, looking back at how controlling her husband Mr.Mallard were in their marriage, Mrs.Mallard felt a sudden joy when processing her husband death After her sudden emotional change, Mrs Mallard felt liberated when she started thinking about what her life would be like without Mr.Mallard, but regardless of the happiness she feels, she knows that once she sees her husband in corpse that sadness will return. Through her writing, author Chopin readers/ audience would be women who feel trapped and controlled in their marriage. Anger, loneliness and heartbroken are feelings that women who're coping with the death of their loved one feel.

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Mallard’s death is a combination of her heart condition and becoming suddenly over-happy at the sight of her husband. This is ironic because the real reason for Mrs. Mallard’s death is the opposite. It is a combination of her weak heart and extreme sudden sadness and shock. Everyone thinks she was still overcome with sadness from his death when really she was finally happy that she could look forward to a long, independent life, living just for herself. Then when she discovered that her husband was really alive they thought she was so overcome with joy that she died when really she became extremely sad again because she was back where she had been before the incident.

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The readers can be more sympathetic towards Mrs. Mallard.

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Kate Chopin introduces her main character as “Mrs. Mallard” to signify her being married. However, within her marriage, she loses herself. Being married, she took her husband’s last name and became a wife. In a way it changed her personality. She was no longer her own self, she was someone else’s “property”.

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We think that the form of the “Imaginary” mentioned in Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory of Mrs. Mallards family and friends “imagining” that the devastated new of Mr. Mallard’s death would cause her a heart attack, however later on in the story it was mentioned that she was in fact relieved to know she was a free woman of her marriage. Consequently, the reality of Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts, perceptions and feelings were not the same as others may have assumed or imagined to be. Based on stereotypical standards of society this was misunderstood because a wife should feel an enormous pain for the death of her husband. As the story continues, when Josephine whose Mrs. Mallard’s sister told her about the death of Mr. Mallard, instead of reacting in shock as “many women would’ve (Chopin, The Story of an Hour)” done so, Mrs. Mallard “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.

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