Themes In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

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Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main
Institut für England- und Amerikastudien
Einführung Literaturwissenschaft
Sommersemester 2014
Jesse Ramirez
Kate Chopin’s The story of an Hour
Katharina Gunkel
BA American Studies (Haupfach) [e-mail] Stadtseestraße 13
63762 Großostheim
Matrikelnummer: 5562925
Frankfurt, den XX.0820142
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
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3 Conclusion embraced by people for their sensitive, graceful, poetic depictions of women 's lives.3
In her short story “The story of an Hour”, which was written on April 19 1894 and originally published under the title “Dream of an Hour”, Kate Chopin pictures one hour in the life of
Louise Mallard, who is undergoing several states of emotions - suspense,

In this 1000-word short story, Kate Chopin understands it to enable the reader to participate emotionally in what is happening to Louise and to accompany the latter on the emotional one-hour journey she is going through by illustrating the plot and all the emotions using specific linguistic features and symbols representing essential themes in
Louise’s new and old life.
In general, Chopin’s short story can be divided into three different parts concerning style of writing and scenery. Louise, who is afflicted with a heart trouble, receives news of her husband’s death. After a first grieving, she is overwhelmed by the joy of being free from her husband’s dominance. In the end, however, at the sight of her obviously alive husband entering the house few later the shocked Louise dies. The order of events in the short story is described chronologically and certain characteristics of a drama can be identified in Chopin’s short story. Both appearances are used by Chopin in order to guide the reader through the story on the one hand and build up a certain tension within the reader himself. In the following, the three parts are analyzed on behalf of the influence Chopin has on the reader with her general use of language and

The phrase “The joy that kills” can be taken by the reader either serious or ironic and it depends on the reader’s individual adaptation of the phrase, whether Louise died of the joy about her husband’s return or of the destroy of her new-found, overwhelming joy about her freedom. (sudden loss of her much-loved independence.)
Conclusion
“The Story of an Hour” is a piece of literature that does not allow the reader to be ambivalent or indifferent about its events. The reader will have a reaction of one extreme or another; 7 either extreme recrimination for Mrs. Mallard or profound empathy for her. Far from playing a spectator role, the reader of this story must become engaged and must take a moral stance.
One of the most commendable aspects of Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is the fact that the author is able to manipulate suspense, shock, and surprise in a tale that is extraordinarily compact. Works Cited
Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions In The Story Of An Hour." Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-
220. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 Aug.