If, in today's world, a teenage girl was told that her future had been decided a long time ago, she would probably not take the matter lightly. During the early twentieth century though it was quite different. In a time bent on the notion that when a woman reached a certain age, she should be married, Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'; brings a different idea to a world that was not close to changing anytime soon. Her story brings light to a fact that is fairly accepted by today's society, but was shunned during her time. Life before this time demanded that women should get married due to necessity. Most of America was still rural and women were needed to do certain task on the farm. When industrialization came along though, things became simpler, cities grew, and there were more choices for people to do. Women were not tied down on the farm any more. Her story shows one woman's chance to be what she wanted to be and not be looked down upon in her society. Chopin gives light on women having more freedom to do what they wanted to do in regards to marriage.
The story begins with the news of the death of Mrs. Mallard's husband. She takes the news hard at first, but when she is alone in her room, the setting of the room does not convey a scene of sorrow. The setting of the room shows many signs of renewal or rebirths. It suggests that it is a rebirth for Mrs. Mallard. In many respects, it shows a much bigger scene. Mrs. Mallard could be thought ...
In The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin gives a very inside look at her feelings about marriage, female independence, and the human will. The first description that Chopin gives of Louise (the main character of the story) is her heart trouble. The way that it is suggested, gives the reader reason to believe that the ailment may not only be physical but also mental. Louise's sister, Josephine and Richards treat Louise with great care as though she is fragile. They are afraid that breaking the news of her husband's death to her may be harmful to her condition. When Louise hears the news of her husband's death, Chopin tells us that she "wept with wild abandonment." This apparently was not the expected response. This is known, because Chopin tells the reader that many women would have received the message and been so paralyzed by it that they would not have been able to show emotion. Therefore, it is assumed that Louise is a rather passionate person.
In Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”, the main, central idea I got from the story is, when losing something you can choose to fill yourself positively or negatively. A woman, Mrs. Mallard, was told her husband was lost in a railroad disaster. She pondered and decided this meant freedom while she observed nature. The story first tells about her sitting in the chair grief stricken. “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up to her throat and shook her…” (Chopin, 1). The evidence supports this theme because it’s a literal example of a negative thing filling her up. The sad sob that came up & filled her throat, is something negative she choose to fill her life with, before realizing
After hearing the horrific news of Brently Mallard's railroad accident death, his friend Richards goes off to tell the news to Mrs.Mallard at her house. When he arrives, he and Mrs. Mallard's sister Josephine inform her of Mallard's tragic death. After hearing the news she cries to them before going off to her room for some alone time. She sits exhaustively and motionless in her armchair while looking out the window, occasionally sobbing. The young woman stares into the sky while she waits nervously for the revelation of her husband's death to set in. He then realizes that it isn't sadness that she is feeling but freedom. She decides it while she's running for her husband's death she's also going to get many years of freedom, which
In the story of an hour, Kate Chopin’s focal point is on an American woman’s dramatic hour of awakening. Mrs. Millard lives a psychologically lethargic life because of the social situation during the nineteenth century. Josephine knows that her sister suffers from a heart condition so when Mr. Millard’s friend tells her about the news, Josephine breaks the news to her sister in “broken sentences and “veiled hints” (688). When she hears the news of her husband she is obviously sad but feels a new sense of freedom. Alone in her room, Louise begins a transformation that empowers her with a “clear and exalted perception” (689). She soon finds out her husband was not near the accident when he arrives home. Spotting her husband alive kills Louise. The doctor claims that she died of the joy of seeing her husband but in reality she died because her joy was stripped away.
“Story of an Hour,” by Kaye Chopin resolves around love, marriage, freedom and independence of the main character Louise Mallard. The story began by first revealing that Mrs. Mallard has been burdened with a heart condition. She soon discovers her husband has died in a railroad accident. Mrs. Mallard is forced to face the emotional conflict between her husband’s death and the euphoria she feels at the prospect of freedom and independence. Her feeling of independence is quickly taken away, when her husband returns home unharmed. Chopin’s emancipated ideals form the basis of this story. Chopin explores the female identity in a patriarchal society. She explores the women of the nineteenth-century and how marriages result in the loss of property
For women, the 19th century was a time of inequality, oppression, and inferiority to their male counterparts. A woman's social standing depended solely on her marital status. For these reasons many women were forced to lead a life of solitude and emotional inadequacy, often causing depression. In Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," setting plays a significant role in illustrating the bittersweet triumph of Mrs. Mallard's escape from oppression at the ironic cost of her life.
is also oppressed by the circumstances within her marriage. Mrs. Mallard however suppressed her feelings and of unhappiness and in which the story implies puts stress on her heart. The announcement of her husband death brings on conflicting feelings of grief and joy. Mrs. Mallard paradoxical statement about the death of her husband changes her perception about life. “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.
Kate Chopin wrote a short piece called “The Story of an Hour” about a woman’s dynamic emotional shift who believes she has just learned her husband has died. The theme of Chopin’s piece is essentially a longing for more freedom for women.
of a sunny day than a gloomy sky. At this point it is almost confusing
The aspirations and expectations of freedom can lead to both overwhelming revelations and melancholy destruction. In Kate Chopin’s “ The Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard is stricken with the news of her husband’s “death” and soon lead to new found glory of her freedom and then complete catastrophe in the death of herself. Chopin’s use of irony and the fluctuation in tone present the idea that freedom can be given or taken away without question and can kill without warning. After learning of her husband’s death in a railroad disaster, Mrs. Mallard sinks into a deep state of grief, as one would be expected to do upon receiving such news.
During the time period of “The Story of an Hour,” the main role of a woman is to marry and have children. The husband is expected to take care of their wife, but in return, they receive all the earnings of their spouse. The concept of marriage is that women have to stay dependent on a man, just like they did as a child. Therefore, women are not allowed a freedom of their own. As a matter of fact, life as a slave is often compared to the life as a women. In “The Story of an Hour,” Chopin expresses the idea of feminine independence through the death of Brently, Louise’s husband.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
Key Elements:The story of an hour · Plot: Standard plot. A woman who receive the notice of her husband's death, and when she begins to felt freedom her husband appear again and she can't accept it and fall died. · Characterization: Few characters a. Mrs. Mallard or Louise: Mallard's wife. Was afflicted with hearth trouble.
The story of an hour "The story of an hour" has many themes, but mostly shows one main theme, which is dysfunctional marriage. Women in the 19th century were prisoners of their husbands. Life was male dominated. Women were expected to stay at home to cook and raise the children. Not many women had jobs at that time, and even the ones who did, they were paid less than men were.
First of all, when her sister and husband’s friend told her the news, she appeared to be sorrowful, but infact she was overjoyed. “She did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted understanding enabled her the suggestion as trivial”. Every cry that exited Mrs. Mallard’s body was the happiness of being