Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Kate chopin the story of an hour meaning
Kate chopin the story of an hour meaning
Kate chopin the story of an hour meaning
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Kate chopin the story of an hour meaning
In the story of an hour we follow Mrs. Mallard after receiving the news of her husbands death. After receiving the news she closes herself off in her room and sinks into her chair overlooking a big bright window. The window has a big part in the story because it symbolizes many thought and emotions going through Mrs. Mallards Mind.
To begin, the first symbolic meaning one can interpret from the window is when Mrs. Mallard gazes out over the trees and gets lost in the little specks of sunshine peering through the cloud-covered sky. This can be seen as a sign is freedom, and in a sense she can fly away like a bird. Marriages in 1894 were not like they are today, most marriages were arranged by the families, and the wife was expected to be the
…show more content…
Mrs. Mallard struggles with her emotions after she hears the news about Mr. Mallard, and staring out the window allows her to be able to sort through her thoughts and feelings. As she sinks into the chair overlooking the window she gets a “dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought” (Chopin). Everything going on outside the window in a way signifies all of her thoughts and emotions from the rain that can symbolize Mrs. Mallard’s tears, to the bright spot in the sky signifying a bright new future. In the end this brings a sense of peace and calmness to Mrs. Mallard.
In conclusion, the window helps to calm Mrs. Mallard’s fears about what’s to come in her life, but it also was the death of her. As she sat in the window pondering the news of her husbands passing, she only sheds a tear before feeling slight joy in her heart. If Mrs. Mallard would have taken the time to morn her husband properly, and not been so quick to run away and act selfish about her feelings, she wouldn’t have suffered from a heart attack from the shock when she finds him to still be
Kate Chopin exquisitely presents a story of a young, free-spirited woman that stands out of social standards, using a wide variety of rhetorical terms and figurative language. Among these, Chopin used many examples of imagery in Story of an Hour, composing a very visually descriptive and intriguing piece that captivates readers since 1894. The use of imagery has a pivotal role in her short story as it visualizes the whole situation and creates a compelling contrast between the story and emotions of both characters and the readers.
Nearing the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard has fully embraced her future with, "prayer[s] that life might be long." She wants to live a full life now, she is happy. When all seems well on its way her sister franticly begins knocking on her door to get her to open up because she is worried that Louise is making herself ill with despair. Far from the truth, after leaving the room the two make their way down the stairs and the front door opens with the husband walking in, Brently Mallard. This moment Mrs. Mallard 's heart stops and she falls dead. Though her heart was weak, if she was in true love and happiness with her husband she would have fell at the beginning of the story, but she does not. Chopin wishes for her to descend after she has been given the world and promises of freedom to be all she could be. Mrs. Mallard dies because of shock that her husband is still alive, she in that brief second, loses everything. Reality comes crashing upon her, life would not be free and would remain in servitude to a man she is not in love
As any woman would, Mrs. Mallard initially “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment,” (227) at the news of her husband’s death. Her weeping almost seems forced as Mrs. Mallard’s true character is revealed later on. She is described as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (227). Though Mrs. Mallard is still youthful, she has much more knowledge, and personal strength than others her age possess. Her extended knowledge and experience leads to realization of the position her husband’s death has put her in, and that this death might actually bett...
Even before hearing the news of Mr. Mallard’s death, societal norms are being pushed upon Mrs. Mallard with expectations as to how she will react. Both Josephine and Richard are afraid of her reaction to the news; they break it to her gently as to avoid a sudden shock, for Chopin states that “Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble”. Mrs. Mallard’s companions believe her to be a fragile woman, incapable of handling such terrible news. Much to Josephine and Richard’s surprise, Mrs. Mallard reacts
In The Story of an Hour, after Brently Mallard supposedly dies, Mrs. Mallard finds her sweet escape through the ajar window in their bedroom. This unclosed window was a curse symbolizing what Mrs. Mallard would never be able to fulfill; her own desires. Mrs. Mallard gaped through the aperture, entertaining the fantasies that had not once left her. She saw freedom, new beginnings, a life that would be her own and they each made her feel liberated. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is metaphorically illustrated to be “drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window” (Chopin, 1894, p.477) Mrs. Mallard whose name is later revealed to be Louise, is lost in her destructive illusions that she finds through an open window. The same window
The story tells the tragedy of a woman and her relief after going through her husband death. By little info, but great detail the story shows how Mrs. Mallard live her life together with her husband. The story was written in 1894, a time when women didn't have the same rights as today. The author view toward marriage shows that love can be a beautiful thing, but there is always that attachment and we can’t do much about it. We can’t be ourselves all the time more specifically we are not free to do the things that we would love to do because of commitment.
At the beginning, we assume that Mrs. Mallard is an elderly woman because she has a heart condition and we read that because of her heart condition she is very fragile, so after the news Mrs. Mallard receives from her friend Josephine that her husband is dead; Mrs. Mallard breaks down in tears, and after a few moments she excuses herself and goes upstairs to her room. As she is sitting there in her room, she is looking out the open window and seeing “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life,” “a peddler crying his wares,” “notes of a distant song...” (12). The window in this scene helps Mrs. Mallard see all the new life from the trees and the birds and the people outside
Mallard’s room symbolizes her new found freedom and all the opportunities that she did not have when her husband was alive. The open window is a visual image that the author uses to show the reader Mrs. Mallards freedom. Her own heart problems symbolizes her marriage status. During those time women were consider to only get married and then live their lives as wives. That’s why at the end when the doctor says that her death was due to "a joy that kills,” symbolizes that the lack of dominance that women had during these times. To the men, they believe that she got her heart attack because of her husband coming home unharmed, but in reality it was because of her loss of freedom and
Accordingly, Mrs. Mallard’s death represents all the women’s lives that were spent pleasing their husbands. Due to the societal standards in the 1800s, women like Mrs. Mallard endured a controlling, restricted life. Home life along with the mistreatment of women explains and justifies the unusual actions shown by Louise. News of her husband’s death to Mrs. Mallard is like winning the battle and gaining her independence. Regardless of her death,
“The Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin, is unique in its kind. The plot is as if M. Night Shyamalan might have written it. There are only four characters in the controversial story; they are, Mrs. And Mr. Mallard, Josephine, and Richards. Though this is a short story, every characters plays an important role. As the story unfolds it takes the reader down one road but in the end the reader finds him or herself facing a whole new direction. Comprehending a story is important, but in this story the reader must understand the underlining meaning that makes this story unique.
Mallard learns of her husband’s death, she locks herself in a room to be alone. She spends time racing through the thoughts in her mind, from despair to awakening. She sees this new freedom as a good thing, yet stays confined in her room. This is ironic, for she is excited for her independence, but traps herself in one space. Towards the end of the story, she leaves the room to accept her new sovereignty, but it is short lived. The ending, although hinted, is unexpected. The audience is informed of Mrs. Mallard’s issues, but not given any more information about what was to come throughout the story. The title, “The Story of an Hour” draws people in, rousing an interested audience. The final events of the story make the ending feel very sudden, for it is shocking. Mr. Mallard is the last person expected to walk through the door during his wife’s final moments. It is ironic that one life seems to be “resuscitated” as one is
At the beginning of The Story of an Hour she gets the news that her husband has died and at first displays the usual symptoms of grief. These include sobbing, breaking down and secluding herself into her room away from the eyes of her sister or Richards. After a long moment or so of taking this in she begins to feel a different line of thought. ( Paragraph 10) “Free, free, free!” Describes Mrs. Mallard, after she takes a good view of the world outside her home, getting to the conclusion that with her husband gone her life could be something different than what it was before with her husband alive.
Mallard, the window, and the rain falling towards the end of the story. Mrs. Mallards heart throughout the story is said to be quite fragile. Hearts, in literature as well as in general, are usually a representation of some variation of love. In the main characters case, it represents a deterioration of love, shown by the problems with her health. In saying that she was “afflicted with heart troubles,” the author foreshadows that the main character is weighed down by something or someone; that she has loved the other person in the past, but no longer loves them the way she once did (para. 1). The reader is not sure why she no longer loves the other person (likely the husband), but only that the main character’s heart is heavy due to her lover. After learning that her husband has supposedly died, Louise talks of her “pulse beat(ing) fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body,” (para. 10). This further upholds the idea that her heart problems are a direct reflection of her love life with her husband. Furthermore, when her husband returns home completely fine, Louise collapses and dies because of her heart. This is also a further representation of her heart problems in correlation with her husband. Secondly, the window that the main character looks out of throughout the duration of the story. On the outside of this window, there are blue skies and birds singing along with
The beginning of the story starts by telling Mrs. Mallard the horrific news that her husband had passed away from a terrible accident at work. At first, the news is not taken lightly and Mrs. Mallard is overcome with emotions. She returns to her room alone requesting that no one followed her. Once in her room, she sits in a chair by the window and takes a look at the ground below her. Sitting there motionless, the story’s mood and tone change from sad to relief as she takes in the spring atmosphere and realizes that at that moment she is “free, free, free!” (307) This is the moment of complete bliss and love. Chopin mentions “And yet she had loved him – sometimes. Often she had not.” This shows us that the “love” between Mr. and Mrs. Mallard was not the normal type of love that was represented in most marriages. Mrs. Mallard felt free when her husband was involved in an accident which now she could receive a different type of love, loving herself. The end of this short story read that someone was opening the front door with the latchkey. While everyone stood there waiting to see who it could be, Mrs. Mallards husband, Brently Mallard, walks in. Overwhelmed with emotions once again, Mrs. Mallard then falls to the floor. The doctors came and said she died of heart disease. The last couple words of the story are “of joy that kills.”
There were a lot dramatic language used in the story; and each details in the story adds a depth to the story. An academic journal written by Selina Jamil wrote, “When she hears the news of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard’s obliviousness to the beauty of life breaks down under the powerful impact of emotion (Jamil 216). When describing her feeling after know the death of her husband’s death, the author wrote, “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arm” (Chopin 193). Later when describing her feeling when she was alone in the room, the author wrote, “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (Chopin 193). In both scenario, the author compared Mrs Mallard with a crying child. This is a way to show the weakness and helplessness of the character which was representing female in general. When in the room, Mrs Mallard looked out to the window, and what she saw was very carefully listed by the author. Each object listed by the author has its hidden meaning. First, there was “a comfortable , roomy armchair” (Chopin 193). Armchair are normally associated with loneliness and old age. This symbolizes that Mrs. Mallard be lonely for the rest of her