Kate Chopin is an American author who wrote two novels and about a hundred short stories in the 1890s. Most of her fiction is set in Louisiana and most of her work focuses on the lives of intelligent women. Two widely known short stories that Chopin wrote are The Story of an Hour and Desiree’s Baby. Both stories are about women who have struggling relationships with their husbands. The Story of an Hour is about a woman, Mrs. Mallard, who suffers with a heart problem. Her husband’s friend, Richards, and her sister Josephine have to tell Mrs. Mallard that her husband has died in a train accident. They are both concerned that this news might danger Mrs. Mallard’s health. However, when Mrs. Mallard hears about the news, she feels excitement and a spur of freeness. Even though her husband is dead, she doesn’t have to live the depressing life she has been living. Mrs. Mallard sits in a chair and then whispers, “Free, free, free!” She knows that she will cry again when she sees him dead. But she keeps whispering, “Free! Body and soul free!” Josephine kneels at the door and tells Mrs. Mallard to open the door. Mrs. Mallard makes a quick prayer that life might be long and then opens the door. Together, they go downstairs. Someone is opening the front door, and it is Brently Mallard, Mrs. Mallard’s husband. He had been far away from the accident and didn’t know there had been one. Richards tries to cover him from the view of his wife, however he is too late. When the doctors come they say she has died of heart disease. Desiree’s Baby is about a girl named Desiree, who is adopted by the Valmonde family after they find her in the shadow of a stone pillar. When Desiree becomes a young woman, a plantation owner with one of the finest nam... ... middle of paper ... ...tween her and her husband. The last letter in the story is the letter written by Armand’s mother. This letter reveals that he is the one that is responsible for the child’s appearance. There had been unexpected twists at the end of the stories, though the twists are appropriate for the outcome. The twists are to have a main message. The Story of an Hour represents the male dominated society and the subjugation of women. The short story suggests that Brently Mallard dominated his wife – and for this, she is not happy, and dies soon after. Desiree’s Baby also represents women’s lack of power and male domination in the society. When Desiree’s mother tells her to come home, based on Armand’s reaction to having a child the same color as a slave, Desiree has to seek approval of her husband to leave. This shows his control in their relationship and his power over Desiree.
As a young mother, the narrator expresses how she wanted to be the best mother, the right mother for her child Emily. She admits that she was a first time mother ? ?with all the rigidity of first motherhood?? She reads books to educate her self and she believes the ?experts? and what makes the best kind of mother. Tillie Olsen writes about how the character, through physical sacrifice, nursed her child. The story raises our awareness of gender and family roles by the comments of the narrator. We become aware of the constraints we place upon ourselves t...
freedom and independence. In the story “The Story of an Hour” Ms. Mallard experiences a moment of liberation from her marriage due to the sudden
Kate Chopin was an American author and short story writer. She is considered among the most vital ladies in nineteenth-century American fiction. She was born on Feb. 8, 1851, in St. Louis, Missouri, and died there on Aug.
Lisa finds Baby upset in their hotel room, sulking about the tongue lashing and discriminating views of her parents and the manager of Kellerman’s. Lisa’s empathy for Baby is full of warmth and understanding. Lisa catches herself when she offers to do Baby’s hair, and instead compliments Baby by telling her she is prettier, her way. A portrayal that historically these two characters would not have put aside their rivalry for the affections of their father.
The short story "The Story of an Hour" had quite a twist. In the beginning not only did I feel sympathy for Mrs. Mallard because she had heart trouble and found out her husband died but it seemed as if she was sad from all the tears she shed. However the truth behind it all come out when "And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not" was stated. It now was clear that Ms. Mallard was glad to see her husband past away because now she " could live her long life free".Yet very tragically her husband comes back to visit her and then is when her days of daydreaming without her husband are gone she unfortunately could not handle his return and died. I can Infer from this the women/s were gaining entrance, they had more than before.
Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour,” wants to be free because she feels trapped by her husband. She lives in a male dominant society where they women are controlled by their husbands. In the beginning of the story, her husband dies in a train wreck. Knowingly that she had a heart problem, great care was taken to break to her the possible news of her husband’s death. When Mrs. Mallard is told the news, she “opened and spread her arms,” because she saw a life of freedom. She was overcome with relief to be able to venture out and be herself. She was held down in her husband’s life, but free in his death. Her reaction to his death showed that she thought of her marriage as binding. “The patches of blue sky” represent the life that Mrs. Mallard
The story shows a relationship between a mother and a daughter through the event of shopping. Mrs. Dietrich, a middle aged mother, longs to have that intimate relationship with her daughter, just as she did when she was pregnant. Nola, a young teenager wanting to spread her wings, just wants her mother to let her go. This time of their relationship is awkward for both of them but is typical for many parents and children.
Plot: The matriarch of a poverty stricken southern family, Addie Bundren, lays dying in her bed. Married to Anse Bundren, she births five children: Jewel, Cash, Darl, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman Bundren. Her neighbors, Vernon and Cora Tull (as well as their children), care for Addie in her final days as her family keeps the house running. Cash, the oldest, spends most of his time building a coffin for his mother right underneath her window. The second oldest child, Darl, and the youngest, Vardaman, just try to survive during the time of the book. Dewey Dell, the only daughter in the family, becomes pregnant and acts as if she does not care about the death of her mother, only the abortion of her bastard child. Jewel, known as Addie’s favorite child,
"The Story of an Hour" continues by Mrs. Mallard focusing on the freedom she secretly craves. As Mrs. Mallard is contemplating the news of freedom she didn't even stop to ask if it was a "monstrous joy" what she is feeling. At this point she is thrilled that she has newly found freedom, something society would conclude to be moral wrong after a depressing event just occurring. Even though she is happy she has freedom, when she g...
In the story of an hour we see that is driven by freedom because Mrs. Mallard does not know how to live her own life because she has to obey her husband’s rules. She does not have a mind of her own because all of her decisions and her life style is all because of her husband. She does not know the meaning of freedom because of the mental and physical abuse that is stode upon her. Mrs. Mallard’s sister comes to inform her that her husband as just be killed in a train accident, when this happens is very excited because she can now do what she wants to do and does not have to answer to anyone, she can now be
"Désirée 's Baby" is about a woman that is not aware of her background because she was adopted into a wealthy Southern family; therefore, she meets the handsome
Korb, Rena. "Critical Essay on 'Désirée's Baby'." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
In “The Story of an Hour”, following the supposed death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard deals with the conflict between her true self, including her feelings and ideas, and the expectations of society placed upon women during the time period.
Women weren’t given the same rights as men. No one ever considered their opinions, or heard their desires and feelings. However, in “Story of an Hour” one of the major themes is freedom. Once Mrs. Mallard receives the bad news of her husbands death she is upset, but that doesn't last. She becomes a woman free from male dominance. In the end she discovered that Mr. Mallard isn’t dead, and she dies of what the doctor says was her heart disease and joy. I see this story as a female struggle.Women were never superior to men back then, and Mrs. Mallard shows us that when she dies because even her short fantasies of freedom weren’t real.
The wife of Brently Mallard, a character in "The Story of An Hour," displays hope and despair. As she sits by a window in her room, thinking about her husband's death, an unexpected feeling comes over her. A feeling of freedom overwhelms her. "She said it over and over under her breath: `free, free, free!'" She envisions the moment she will see his dead body. She knows she will cry then; "but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely." Her hopes for a happier future are demolished when her husband walks through the door, and she realizes that he is very much alive. Mrs. Mallard collapses. "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease." However, despair is seemingly the fatal disease.