Story Of An Hour Figurative Language

There are no secret remedies or spiritual concoctions, it all begins with self-love. This love is the most important form of love being that it will serve as the foundation to how one will love and care for another. Mrs. Mallard shows us how easy it is to commit to a relationship, only to lose your identity in the process. In The Story of an Hour, author Kate Chopin uses excellent writing techniques such as symbolism, figurative language, and suspense to captivate readers as she tells the story of a woman once in love, exploring liberation and its many obligations. The role of symbolism in The Story of an Hour was to give depth to the characters and bring true understanding to the theme of the story. It was used to tell a major part of the

Build-up was one technique that helped maintain the reader’s interest. “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She didn’t know: it was too subtle and elusive to name.”(Chopin, 1894, p.206). Originally one would believe that Mrs. Mallard was an old sick lady with a heart condition that is struggling with recently becoming a widow, but that story line would be too easy. Metaphors were used to hint at what was to come. It would only be a matter of time before the mystery of Mrs. Mallard would be revealed. The thing about Mrs. Mallard is that she was easily relatable in the beginning of the story; she seemed to be an everyday woman. Once excitement grew over her husband’s death the suspense grew. It left the reader wanting to know who she was really. Was she being abused or had she been in an affair? This was a great interesting character writing technique that mixed things up, and aided in the thrill of the story. “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength”(Chopin,1894, pg.205). And then we understood; she was young, probably married young. She loved her husband, made him her most important priority, and probably put his ambitions ahead of hers. Then things grew old, maybe she outgrew him. Her wrinkles showed that she was mature enough to know what she had in her husband, and that was not worth loosing. So she stayed. His

Mallard croaks right there, on the ground, at the sight of her husband. Some say joy, I say disillusionment. Some grieve for weeks, some months; others take years if ever at all. Mrs. Mallard went through the process of grief in an hour. Symbolism gave this story good structure, readers sought viciously sought for relevance. Metaphors and similes were used to captivate readers by relevance. Suspense was the best part of the story because it introduced drama when you never knew there would be. Life is suspenseful; we are always left at the edge of our seat with what might happen next. This technique never got old, as the story ended with so much uncertainty. The background of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard’s marriage remains in the air for speculation. Chopin chooses to keep readers wanting more. Wondering if Mrs. Mallard was having an affair, or maybe Mr. Mallard was. Did Mr. Mallard sail off in the sunset with Josephine after Mrs. Mallard’s