ipl-logo

Story Of An Hour, By Kate Chopin

532 Words3 Pages

Contact with Freedom
Kate Chopin is an American writer in the end of 19th century, and she wrote lots of short stories and novels which deal with women’s concern from their viewpoints. She often describes a woman’s inner voice very realistically indeed, and it is also focused on a widow’s conflict in one of her works, “The Story of an Hour.” In this story, there are some symbols to grasp the author’s intentions. This paper will argue that “spring” and “door” are important symbols in “The Story of an Hour.”
Firstly, in this story, “spring” is a symbol of freedom. This symbol is the clue to consider what freedom is. This story changes completely in this passage; “She could see in the open square before her house the top of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (Chopin). It explains the new spring life: …show more content…

In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The note of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves (Chopin).
There are full of descriptions that need to use five senses, and the description is easy to picture vivid colors. Besides, it is clear that the new spring life is dynamic not static compared the front and rear passage above. When Mrs. Mallard notices “spring,” she realizes that man and woman’s private lives after marriage should last. In short, it indicates that being a slave to his or her own role in society too much grows distant from

Show More
Related
753 Words | 4 Pages

In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour” the use of symbolism introduces a powerful and significant aspect to the work of literature. These symbols include the heart condition, the open window, and the characters themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard. Chopin effectively uses each of these symbols to arouse thought about the patriarchal, oppressive society that existed during her time, but these symbols continue to have limited relevance in the twenty-first century. The first symbol that Chopin uses is the heart condition.

Read More
635 Words | 3 Pages

Mallard life, has been miserable and she felt as she was a slave of her own place she is living, the room is basically her life and identity. The news of her husband death was still roaming in her head; she went in her room alone to reflect the situation around her. She stands in front of an open window, staring at “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air.” Louise Mallard felt as this is the time where she felt like a whole new person someone who finally reborn and start all over again in life and that she has a promising future ahead of her as Choplin describe, “There were many patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window” (Para 6).

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

Antisocial Edna While being social and part of a community is incorporated in humanity, it is also enjoyable to spend some alone time away from distractions and reflect. This characteristic can be seen in The Awakening with the main protagonist Edna who gravitates toward privacy. Edna longs to be an independent, strong woman and associates this belief with being alone and on her own. Edna is often involved in activities with others where she chooses to seclude herself from the group. Kate Chopin accentuates this aspect of Edna through her actions, but especially through her relations with Robert.

Read More
195 Words | 1 Pages

The use of an open window in “Story of an Hour” can be compared to how the Women’s Rights Movement was like a gateway for independence. When Mrs. Mallard is locked in her room, her sister says to her, “Open the door--you will make yourself ill” (Chopin). Mrs.

Read More
1968 Words | 8 Pages

This can be seen when she fees free in a confined room, or how her weak heart sets her free from her husband through death. The author also sets up a subtle melancholy tone to the story that leaves the reader thinking and analyzing the sad events that occurred in the hour. She also use her tone to point out the cruelty idea of marriage at the time and how Mrs. Mallard thought it was a crime which left her powerless because she was a woman. Throughout this short story symbolism is quite clear. For example, when Mrs. Mallard is characterized with heart trouble.

Read More
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.

Read More
469 Words | 2 Pages

She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name…she was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching her…she was striving to beat it back with her will…” (Chopin 1). The stimulus of her husband’s death is starting to create a word-presentation of the freedom she once had before she was

Read More
745 Words | 3 Pages

Chopin’s personal life creates her feminist characteristic and develops the feminist themes of her novels. Her works were forgetting after her death. In 1950, scholars recognize that most of Chopin’s works such as The Awakening are remarkable and essential works in America. The Awakening is mainly interested in feminism and other gender issues. The novel focuses on many feminine themes such as liberation of the females, isolation and selfhood, maternity, death and life, love and marriage.

Read More
965 Words | 4 Pages

By shifting the novel's setting between nature and house, Chopin implies that Edna's awakening process is an arduous detour rather than a linear progression. This alternation of settings, viewed in the context of composition, accurately reflects the fluctuations in feminine power amid the social upheavals

Read More
590 Words | 3 Pages

She noticed that she is about to receive full freedom and woman independence because husband no longer lived to tell her what to do or how to do things. Chopin reveals the story through a narrator's voice. The narrator knows,

Read More
1123 Words | 5 Pages

Introduction Kate Chopin wrote numerous poems and short stories. In my essay I will primarily deal with her novel The Awakening and the short story At the Cadian Ball. I will try to address women’s issues in her fiction, such as motherhood, marriage, adultery, sexuality. When it comes to Chopin, there is plentitude of topics to be dealt with; however, I selected only a few to focus on. For her fiction, the concept of ‘mother-woman’ is highly important; nonetheless, before addressing that, I will give a short portrait of the author-woman behind it – Kate Chopin herself.

Read More
158 Words | 1 Pages

In the beginning of time, women were treated like second class citizens. Women were repressed because of the problems they had to face created by society. Women were controlled by their husbands or men in their lives and couldn’t have their freedom. In both stories, “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin and “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner, the main characters are women that are controlled by men and long to be free. Mrs. Mallard in "The Story of an Hour" and Emily Grierson in "A Rose for Emily" have been shaped physically and mentally by the men they live with.

Read More
2035 Words | 9 Pages

Immediately the symbol of a sparrow twittering gives you the impression of rebirth. The trees were all aquiver with new spring life symbolizes a new beginning. A fresh start. Mary E. Papke cited in Bloom 's Modern Critical Views writes, "It is easy for the reader to be overwhelmed by the pathos of the story, a natural response since the reader comes to consciousness of the text just as Louise

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin is known as one of the most influential female authors to hail from the United States. Much of her modern-day success came posthumously, but during her own time, Chopin was well-known and positively received for her short stories in particular, which were published in various prestigious magazines such as Vogue, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s Young People, Youth’s Companion, and the Century. Chopin made waves with her then-controversial themes regarding women, depicting her female characters as sexually powerful and independent, and was one of the first pioneers in feminist literature.

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

The story also argues that freedom is a very powerful force that affects the mental or emotional state of a person. Chopin argues that only through death can one be finally freed. The author makes strong, yet subtle statements towards humanity and women’s rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin demonstrates how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a

Read More

More about Story Of An Hour, By Kate Chopin

Related Topics

Open Document