Societal Restraints In Kate Chopin's Story Of An Hour

In Kate Chopin's "Story of An Hour," the readers are taken on a journey of the mixed, scattered emotions of the main character, Louise. Louise battle between accepting her true emotion, happiness, and feeling grief as society expects her to once she learns that her husband has died. Since the story is told in third person limited point of view, the readers are clearly able to see this fight of emotions and the changes within the story's protagonist. Not only does this show the complexity of the issue, but it also illustrates Chopin's view on societal restraints. An analysis of character, setting, and rhetorical devices in Chopin's "Story of An Hour" shows that society's expectations can be damaging. Chopin uses strong characterization of the story's protagonist, Louise, to convey the theme of the story. In the beginning, Louise is described as "young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression" (174) who conforms to the ways of society. She is a young woman, who is married and a housewife; during the late 1890s, this was the way that a woman should be living.

Chopin uses the setting of spring to show Louise's cleansing herself and the chains of society that are locked around her. Also, Louise is referred to as "a goddess of Victory" (175). This is a comparison between Louise and Greek goddess Nike and is also a literary allusion. It is describing her new attitude and vibrancy in life, such as when someone wins a race. Louise beats society and her marriage, overcoming an obstacle in her life. Another stylistic device that Chopin uses is irony. She accepts her newfound emotions and starts to embody them. When her dead husband, alive, walks through the door, it is too much for her fragile heart to handle. She ironically dies from a "joy that kills" (176) since she realizes that her freedom is