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Story Of An Hour Comparative Essay

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The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and Out Out by Robert Frost both centre on the tragic loss of a person. Loss in both texts presents multiple interpretations, not only the literal loss of a person, but also the figurative loss of innocence, identity, freedom and oppression. The Story of an Hour and Out Out were written in 1894 and 1916 respectively and provide powerful social commentaries particular to these time periods. During the nineteenth century many women’s rights, and overall independence was suppressed by a male dominant society. Chopin illustrates the social behaviour of society during this period in The Story of an Hour. We are introduced to loss early in The Story of an Hour and action begins in media res, with news of a “railroad …show more content…

Mallard’s loss of innocence is revealed in the euphoric moment when she recognizes she is happy to hear of her husband’s death and evidenced in the following two sentences. “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.” Phrases and sentence structure are repeated to further highlight this theme. Chopin writes, “ she breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.” The identical phrasing reminds us how significantly her life has changed. Similarly Out Out also introduces a loss of innocence in the quote “doing a man’s work, though a child at heart”. In the poem, we find out that the boy is handling dangerous equipment, the saw. This already changes our perception of him as being physical beyond his years. However, when he fatally cuts himself, it brings us back to the jarring reality that he is too young to be assuming this responsibility. His realization that he has lost too much blood to survive as he tries to “keep the life from spilling” from his hand once again highlights his maturity beyond his years in stark contrast to his

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Mallard’s husband, fake death. While the narrator states “Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” (Chopin, page ) This shows Mrs.Mallard’ psychological state, in her deep heart there is a feeling of the desire to freedom which is causing her frustration on freeing her forces that have dominant in her. The emotional state of the sudden news of her husband’s death and the longing for freedom have caused her to become insanely happy with the news that will allow living herself and breathe fresh air once

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Through her thoughts, it is known she was happy for just that hour, that she thought her husband was dead. After seeing Mr. Mallard step in through the front door, Louis was terrified, and it was not the “joy” that killed but the shock of seeing her husband alive (Chopin,

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In “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard says she will be sad for her because of her husband’s funeral, “but she saw beyond hat bitter moment” (Chopin). She looked to the future and said that “there would be no one to live for… [but] she would live for herself” (Chopin). She looks forward to this idea.

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The death of a loved one can overwhelm anyone with emotions of grief and sadness. However, in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard feels a sense of freedom from the thought of not being married anymore. She finds out that her husband, Brently Mallard, has died in a train accident from Richards who is Brently’s friend. Richards sees Brently’s name in the newspaper and comes to tell Mrs. Mallard that her husband died in a train wreck. Her sister, Josephine is already there with her.

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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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In “The Story of an Hour,” the author, Kate Chopin, tackles a complex issue that involves the need of a woman for independence from a marriage that may have been retraining her or holding her back. Chopin suggests that Louise Mallard’s marriage, even with the kindest and love her husband provided, was inherently oppressive. Louise provides this understanding when she starts to feel a sense of joy when she believes that her husband had died and she could now live for herself. The story is written as from the eyes of an observer.

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Every person has the right to be and feel free. They have the right to be independent and live happily. Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences a revelation about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive.

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Mrs. Mallard, the wife of Brently Mallard, a railroad worker who was pronounced dead in an accident. Mrs. Mallards sister Josephine and Richard, Mr. Mallards friend came to tell her heartbreaking news. “Knowing Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.” (Chopin, p.126) As Mrs. Mallard wept in her sister’s arms as the grief took her over.

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Mallard’s emotional response after she was informed of her husband’s death. When her sister informed her about his husband’s death, she “sank into a comfortable armchair” (Chopin 2). It was clear that her marriage held her back. After learning the death, Mrs. Mallard knew that there will “be no powerful will bending her” (Chopin 2). After learning about the death Mallard recognizes that he will not be there to restrict her any longer or direct her will.

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Chopin also describes Mrs. Mallard as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength”. At the beginning Mrs. Mallard is thought of as being controlled, and weak. In the 19th Century, when this story was written, husbands controlled their wives. Perhaps Mrs. Mallard wasn’t like most women of her time. After she hears of her husband’s death she morns for what feels like only a moment.

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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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As one may feel joy on a bright sunny day, or sadness when the skies are gray and gloomy, the setting in which an individual resides can affect one’s emotions. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, is faced with a life altering situation in the beginning of the story when she is informed that her husband perished in a railroad accident. Upon

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Kate Chopin is the author of the most popular short story "The Story of an Hour". Chopin paints a bleak picture of marriage in this story. It is a short story focusing on a young married woman of the late nineteenth century as she reacts to the news that her husband has died in a train accident. The story was written in a time period when women did not really have right to express their feeling and desire. Women were supposed to stay home and take care of the family whereas the husbands went out to work.

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So, after the late 1800’s moving to the early 1900’s women became more independent. However, in The Story of An Hour written by Kate Chopin in 1894 represent a short story about Mrs. Mallard had received a disastrous news about her husband's death during a railroad disjunction. Mrs. Mallard heard the news from Josephine and Richards, her sister and Mr. Mallard’s friend. They both failed to comfort Mrs. Mallard for her lost, as Mrs. Mallard wept and abandoned them by retreating

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(Chopin, the Story of an Hour)” It would be prudent to believe by the way Mrs. Mallard was crying that indeed she was devastated about her husband’s tragic death.

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