Mrs. Mallard's Conformity

“The Story of an Hour” is one of Chopin’s most renowned short stories based on the usage of many different types of irony. This story is comprised of Mrs. Mallard who finds out about her husband’s untimely due to a tragic accident. Mrs. Mallard is devastated at first when she receives the news of her husband’s death; however, she quickly embraces the idea that she has the rest of her life to live in freedom without the ties of marriage. Ultimately, she finds out that her husband is alive and well when he walks through the front door, but Mrs. Mallard dies of heart disease and the shock that her husband returns home. The theme of conformity and rebellion is most prevalent throughout this story based on Mrs. Mallard’s embracing the idea of the

Mallard’s death is inevitable, she rebels to societies standards by embracing her newfound freedom, which makes her character symbolic of women during this time period as well as the institution of marriage. Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble becomes an imperative symbol to her decision to rebel against society’s expectations as well as her emotional distress ultimately resulting in her demise. The heart is often a symbol of love as well as marriage, but we find in the first sentence of this story that Mrs. Mallard’s heart is periled with trouble both literally in a physical capacity as well as metaphorically in an emotional capacity. For example, Chopin states, “Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble” which explains the reason that news of her husband’s death must be broken “gently” to her (Chopin). Thus, this symbol foreshadows the trouble that the marriage in this story was faced with which could explain why Mrs. Mallard decided to embrace and rejoice about her husband’s death rather than continuing to grieve. The theme of romantic love is stated explicitly because Mrs.

Mallard embraces her newly gained independence when she goes into her room alone in the “comfortable, roomy chair,” which originally symbolizes her previous oppression as she sits and thinks of a future without her husband (Chopin). She is extremely upset to begin with, but then she moves forward to begin accepting her future when she describes the symbol of new spring life through her window. This spring life brings about many symbols, which include “patches of blue sky […] through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other” which represents the hope that Mrs. Mallard can see through the obstacles, or clouds, that have hindered her from experiencing this freedom at any moment before ( Chopin). Thus, Mrs. Mallard begins to see hope in this new life that she may lead without her marriage. She may now be an individual in society rather than being forced to live her husband’s shadow as many women of this time were forced to do. Furthermore, this hope that Mrs. Mallard finally experiences furthers her character’s representation of how oppressed women were in society during this time