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Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

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The obvious theme in “The Story of An Hour” is freedom. In the 1800s many women were deprived of their freedom as Mrs. Mallard was and were not able to have a taste of such. Even though women “had loved” (198 Chopin), their significant other it wasn’t enough to stop them from the excitement of freedom. The patches of blue sky is so tempting and overwhelming one can’t help but repeat “body and soul free”. It is ironic to think that such a loss can cause death to oneself after having their freedom snatched before their eyes. Sudden realization of the truth can be so wonderful but yet heartbreaking at the same time. The symbol of freedom is depicted by the blue “sky reaching towards her” (Chopin 198), represents freedom and a new life ahead of her. The window is giving Mrs. Mallard reassurance of her independence that is awaiting her. She is having a view of life itself without her husband stopping her. Another symbol is given in the beginning of the story when Mrs. Mallard is announced to have “heart trouble” (197 Chopin), from the lack of freedom she has being married and deprived from it. The news of her husband’s death was unfolded to her carefully due to her heart problem to ensure her health was not in jeopardy. Unfortunately it was not the news of her husband’s death that led to her own. …show more content…

Normally when someone passes it is not freedom that they feel, they are deeply saddened by such a tragedy. However, in the story it uses irony because although she is saddened by the death of her husband she knows that she will be able to be “free, free,free”(chopin 198). Another irony in this story is yanking Mrs. Mallard’s freedom from under her feet once she finds out her husband is not dead. Instead of being free as she is hoping, in the end Mrs. Mallard dies from “joy that kills”(Chopin

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The use of repetition emphasizes the view that Mrs. Mallard sees her life as starting to begin, as the whispering of the word “free” signals the new journey. In addition to the devices of imagery and repetition being present in the story, irony plays a role as situational irony. In the last two paragraphs, Chopin uses situational irony to reveal that Mr. Mallard is alive all long, “It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

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Mallard is a young woman with heart trouble. She breaks down after hearing the news that her husband has died. She goes upstairs to her room and looks out window. Mallard finally realizes she is set free and can live for herself. “She said it over and over under her breath: “Free, free, free!”(Chopin “The Story of an Hour” 65) Her happiness is short-lived .In

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Mallard was so shocked of her marriage to her husband that she died from the excitement of knowing he was still alive. Obviously, Chopin is engaging in some irony. Mrs. Mallard, the young stressed woman. She died from a “heart problem.” If you read the story it is misleading by thinking that Mrs. Mallard is sad by her husband death, but really she is freed from the depression and the repression, and how strict he was on her.

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313 Words | 2 Pages

Kate Chopin expresses her views on female discovery and identity through figurative language. The author reveals Mrs.Mallard's initial reaction to her husband's death. Mrs.Mallard experienced extreme anguish when she was told the tragic news. The author states,”paralyzed inability to accept its [ her husband] significance”.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

“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.

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866 Words | 4 Pages

Mrs. Mallard upon seeing her husband collapses and dies. No one knows Mrs. Mallard's true feelings so they believe she dies from the “joy that kills” (Chopin, 280). When the truth is she dies because she no longer has her freedom. Mrs. Mallard had become attached to the idea of freedom and a new way of living. Now that she knows her husband is alive her life has to go back to the way it was before.

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893 Words | 4 Pages

In this story, Mrs Mallard, a woman with heart issues, learned that her husband had passed away. After hearing this information, Mrs. Mallard spent some time alone in her room, soaking up the feeling of finally being set free from him. Instead of crying she was happy at the chance of a new start (Chopin 644-645). It appeared to her sister and Richard that she was upset about her husband’s death but ironically she was happy. She finally had the chance to be free from her husband as well as the expectations of society in the 1800s.

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1020 Words | 5 Pages

While reading the story, it was clear that Mrs. Mallard was happy for the beginning of her new life and the start of freedom. Chopin uses descriptive diction throughout the story, such as irony, symbol,

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Because of how excited Mrs. Mallard is, t is easy for the reader to feel the enormous weight of disappoint fall upon her upon seeing her husband. This excellent character development by Chopin creates a great ending. The second theme that is evident through the voice of the character is irony. In one section of the story, Mrs. Mallard declares that even though she loved her husband, she will only mourn his loss in public at his funeral for the sake of her image. It is this total lack of remorse for the loss of life that makes it so ironic that her husband will be the one mourning her death at the funeral

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1096 Words | 5 Pages

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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913 Words | 4 Pages

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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828 Words | 4 Pages

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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770 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin introduces her main character as “Mrs. Mallard” to signify her being married. However, within her marriage, she loses herself. Being married, she took her husband’s last name and became a wife. In a way it changed her personality. She was no longer her own self, she was someone else’s “property”.

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1346 Words | 6 Pages

(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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1124 Words | 5 Pages

In the story, Chopin begins with the issue of female identity. The story, just like several other stories, begins with Mrs. Mallard being at home; two assumptions can be made, one she is married, and two, she is probably waiting for her husband to return home. What is particular about it, is how Chopin only mentions her name after she knows about her husband’s death and when is realizes that she is free. By doing this, the author criticizes the fact that women adopted her husband’s name in marriage as a signal of men’s property. This fact could mean that for a woman to recover her identity or freedom is by becoming a

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