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.
Mallard is sad about her husband dying, there is a small indication that Mrs. Mallard feels freed from her “seemingly” oppressive marriage. Yes it is obvious that Mrs. Mallard loves her husband deeply and that she loves him sincerely, by her reaction to the announcement of her husband being dead, it shows that women didn’t have that many freedoms in the 1800’s. “It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.” In other words, Mrs Mallard believes that Brently’s death will free and give herself her own sense of individuality. In the story it stated that she hadn’t stopped to look at things like the blue sky before with the patches of clouds in them.
In the Victorian era, women were confined by societal standards that were created mostly through marriage. The modern concepts of single women, how they support themselves with their own wages, and gain their independence, in this era, are nonexistent unless a woman was to become a nun or wishes to be shunned from society. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” all discuss these restrictions through their protagonists’ personal conflicts. These struggles can be expressed as internal, as with Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” and the unnamed narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” or more external such as Delia’s continuous fights with her husband in “Sweat.” All three women,
“The Story of an Hour” is written by Kate Chopin. The main character in this story is Louise Mallard, a married woman in the 19th century who has a heart defect, she receives news that her husband died in an accident. After hearing the news of her husband she goes into solitude into her room where she finds herself not has sad about her husband but feeling some relief that she can live her own life and gains a new sense of freedom that she will have in the later days to come. This is where the theme of freedom comes in, this is seen using many literary elements throughout the story some of these would be foreshadowing, irony, and symbols to show Mrs. Mallard new- found freedom from her “late” husband.
Throughout the story readers can see Mrs. Mallard being characterized through the ironic events. The story says, “And yet she had loved him - sometimes. Often she had not” (8). This shows how Mrs. Mallard cares for her husband but doesn’t enjoy the power he carries over her, which nobody in the story realizes. “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities.
Mrs. Mallard then confines herself to her room where she can react the way that she wants to. By herself she begins to imagine her life without him and with those thoughts she whispered “free, free, free!” At first she is terrifies of these thoughts
Louise's crying about Brently's passing highlight the dichotomy amidst misery and ecstasy. Louise cries or considers sobbing for around seventy five percent of "The Story of an Hour," stopping exactly when she ponders her new open door. Crying is a bit of her presence with Brently, yet it will evidently be truant from her life as a self-governing woman. Around the begin of the story, Louise cries essentially when she finds that Brently is dead, bearing a "whirlwind of dejection. " She continues crying when she is isolated from other people in her room, regardless of the way that the crying now is neglectful, more a physical reflex than anything goaded by feeling.
Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the readers to contemplate a hidden meaning woven into the story line. Mr. Mallard is assumed to die in a railroad accident, leaving Mrs. Mallard devastated. Instead of feeling sadness or grief, Mrs. Mallard actually feels free. "There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (Page 499).
“The Story of an Hour” is a narrative that takes place in one hour. This story is about Louis Mallard, who is a heart patient and is practice to develop many ideas in the story. The thought of destruction and freedom have been foretold in such a manner that gives an another point of sentiment from what was previously recognized. Other ideas that such as time, freedom and confinement, marriage and emotional regression are as well shown. Usually, death brings despondency, misery, gloom, grief and regrets.
After the American Civil War, a new era of literature emerged called the Realism Era. From 1861 until 1900, the new Realism Literature showed new tragedies and real life situations of everyday Americans. The main characters within Realistic Stories are middle to lower class, dull, and have common, boring takes on life. Parts of Realism Literature include Freudian Psychology and the American Dream that is portrayed through the main character. The American Dream is the idea of having equal opportunity, freedom, and the right to pursue happiness including perfect family, great job, and money.
Hour of Freedom “The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. It details a wife named Mrs. Louise Mallard, who struggles with a heart condition. After learning of her husband, Brentley Mallard’s death in a railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard deals with grief in many stages. Chopin incorporates many literary devices throughout “The Story of an Hour,” but imagery is the most evident.
With this belief Mrs. Mallard now looks forward to a long life. Previously to her husband’s death she dreaded the years ahead spent under the thumb of her husband. Now, though, Mrs. Mallard is someone who has much to look forward to and many joys to appreciate. Soon this opportunity is taken from her, just as her chance of freedom is taken from her she learns that Brently is still alive. When Mrs. Mallard sees Brently walk through the front door, the disappointment and the devastation of loss that she suffers cause her heart
shows that although Mrs. Mallard was married, she had not always loved her husband (8). Mrs. Mallard valued her new freedom over her relationship she had with her husband enough to exclaim “What did it matter!” while she was thinking about her deceased husband and her future life (8). This makes the reader assume that Mrs. Mallard felt as if she was bound to something while her husband was still alive. The bondage is broken since her husband’s “death”, and she can now rejoice over her prolonged freedom.
Therefore, this short story indirectly emphasizes how women were suppressed in their marriages and wanted freedom, independence, and self-identity. A literary element which serves as great significance to the story is symbolism because it contributes to the actuality that Mrs. Mallard did not love her husband, but was only adhering to society’s norm. Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble serves as a symbol of anguish because as her heart is trapped inside her body, likewise, she feels oppressed in her marriage and is unhappy with the restricted freedom and lack of independence. After hearing about her husband’s death, she did not experience any heart trouble; however, you would expect her to since she lost her significant other.
The story of an Hour Critical Analysis through a Psychological Perspective using both Freud and Lacan’s theory approach. In the beginning of the story, the Chopin informs the audience of Mrs. Mallard serious heart condition. Her friends and family were worried how to break the news to her of her husband’s death. After giving it much thought Mrs. Mallard was given the news as gently as possible of her husband’s death.
