Michael Middleton
VanNostrand
English 1302, 9:25 AM
2/25/2017
Article Response #1
In S. Salina Jamil’s “Emotions in The Story of an Hour,” she explains the emotions of the main protagonist Mrs. Mallard and her transformation from the dull individual at the beginning to the story to the vibrant independent person over the course of an hour. She takes into consideration internal factors, as well as external factors including time “The Story of an Hour” is set inside of. Jamil also analyzes the story and manages to pull out multiple uses of symbolism and how they relate to Mrs. Mallard’s emotions, overall creating a convincing argument that is hard to disagree with.
To begin to understand Mrs. Mallard’s transformation we must see why she is such a dull person. Jamil
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brings up the time to explain this. She shows during this period, women have little to no rights and the protagonist Mrs. Mallard and her “emotions have been stifled and suppressed to fit into the mold of hollow social conventions” (Jamil, 216). This is made even more apparent in the story when Chopin writes that “There will be no one to live for [Mrs. Mallard] during those coming years [and that] she would live for herself” (K. Chopin, 672). This refers to her marriage to her husband, the external factor in Mrs. Mallard’s life that represents “[the]proponent of patriarchal culture, [who] would never allow for a woman’s self-discovery...’’ (S. Salina Jamil, 219). Without her marriage to Mr. Mallard, Mrs. Mallard is seemingly able to live out the life that she sees without the restraints of the social norms within the time. To put this in perspective, imagine your rights have been stripped away and you were controlled by a significant other, or direct family member. You now must do everything that that person tells you to when you do it. You would probably be in the situation that Mrs. Mallard is in the beginning of the story. Depressed, helpless, dull-minded. Therefore, I believe that Jamil’s arguments correlate to the period since if you were in Mrs. Mallard’s shoes, you would probably feel the same thing. The oppression that Mrs.
Mallard faces is cause for the upcoming events that take place for her transformation physically and mentally inside the locked doors of the bedroom. Jamil points out that this room is a representation of her “[locking] out social conventions” (Jamil, 217) of the era. This is inferred by the transformation that begins shortly afterward as she becomes aware of the new lease on life that she's been given due to her husband's death. This internal change is symbolized with a physical change as Jamil states that “Louise’s apparent emotional anemia has given way to healthy blood circulation” (Jamil, 218) which would cause her to physically look different with a more vibrant skin tone. Re-addressing the prior situation, imagine all the oppression of the previous situation suddenly lifted of-of your shoulders. a sudden relief that gave shimmer of hope for a better life that is why I believe Jamil’s image of “emotional anemia” (S. Salina Jamil, 217) makes sense it seems as if Mrs. Mallard has come back to life completely transforming her into a different person. Overall, Jamil could pick apart “The Story of an Hour” and break it down to where the emotions expressed in the story make
sense. Works Cited Chopin, Kate, KC. "The Story of an Hour." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Comp. Kelly J. Mays. 12th ed. New York, London: W. W. Norton and, 2017. 671-72. Print. S. Selina, “Emotions in the Story of an Hour.” Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-220. Literary Reference Center. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
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...
In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of An Hour,” there are contrasting images of light and dark representing happiness and unhappiness. It isn’t until Louise Mallard thinks that her husband, Brentley Mallard, is dead that she really begins to realize just how unhappy she has been. Chopin shows through the characters light and dark imagery that speaks to this essay.
The symbols and imagery used by Kate Chopin's in “The Story of an Hour” give the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard’s new life appearing before her through her view of an “open window” (para. 4). Louise Mallard experiences what most individuals long for throughout their lives; freedom and happiness. By spending an hour in a “comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4) in front of an open window, she undergoes a transformation that makes her understand the importance of her freedom. The author's use of Spring time imagery also creates a sense of renewal that captures the author's idea that Mrs. Mallard was set free after the news of her husband's death.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” allows one to explore many ironic instances throughout the story, the main one in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate the struggles of reaching personal freedom and trying to be true to yourself to reach self-assertion while being a part of something else, like a marriage. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husband, yet Chopin uses several ironic situations and certain symbols to criticize the behavior of Mrs. Mallard during the time of her “loving” husband’s assumed death.
In the short story “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, there are many symbols that point to one main emotion. Like every symbol in a well written story, a symbol can be very easy to miss during the first reading. This is why the story must be read many times to truly understand and comprehend the symbolism involved in the plot. Symbolism is a key element in great works. Like Mrs. Mallard’s hidden emotions and feelings, it is often entwined in the reading through objects, people, and places. In this story, there are three important symbols that, if recognized, will allow a reader to enjoy the plot to the fullest extent. These three symbols are the open window, the nature outside, and the features of Mrs. Mallard herself.
The story begins on a very sad note especially in the eyes of a reader. Mrs. Mallard is said to have a “heart
Mrs. Mallard is sad, when Richards tells her that her husband has been “kill”, but when she is by herself she realize that she is free. She is happy and she stars murmuring to herself about the body and the soul being free. Before she starts murmuring the narrator describes her as she notices “something coming to her,” and she tries “to beat it back with her will.” This an
Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions in the Story of an Hour." Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-220. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Mrs. Mallard is described as being young and having "a fair, calm face" symbolizing the beauty and innocence of a child. Brently Mallard had repressed her, and now through this seemingly tragic event she is freed of his rule over her and she is able to go on with her life.
Mallard’s heart condition. The very first paragraph informs us of her heart trouble, and how her loved ones were so careful and cautious while breaking the news to her of her husband’s death. In paragraph 11, where Mrs. Mallard cries out “free, free, free!” her heart condition is no longer an issue since her husband is dead. Her body is “warmed and relaxed.” At the end of the story, I found it ironic how Mrs. Mallard’s loved ones took spontaneous and surprising means to protect her from the realization that her husband was alive. They took little care and caution regarding her heart condition. I thought these portions of the text were significant because there was some reference to Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition throughout the text. In the first few paragraphs, my feelings were those of sympathy and pity for the wife who just lost her husband. Around the eighth paragraph, I experienced a little confusion, “Is she happy that her husband is dead?” At the eleventh paragraph, I felt relief along with Mrs. Mallard. I felt her freedom. At the beginning of the next to the last paragraph, I felt nervous, anticipating the worst for Mrs. Mallard, that it would be her husband opening the door. I could feel the disappointment when Louise opened the door was Mr.
Mrs. Mallard’s emotions are what kept me on my toes while reading the story, especially the plot twist. The plot in “The Story of an Hour” was a series of Mrs.
In the short story, by Kate Chopin “The Story of An Hour”, the reader is transported into an era of 19th century American South”; furthermore, they see into a life of a women who is ensnared. As the story reads, the theme of repression becomes ever so obvious in the marriage between Mrs. Mallard and Brentley Mallard.
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
Mallard supposed to be with her husband by his side and giving him advice she was not. This also lead to the news that they gave her husband had died and she was happy , she felt free. Her sister thought Mrs Mallard was crying in her room or very sad but she was not. “She said it over and over under her breath: Free, Free, Free!”(Kate Chopin 's View on Death And Freedom in the story Of An Hour,1).This was unexpected and weird in many ways . It was expected that Mrs Mallard was going to react differently as she really did. This means that maybe the years she was with her husband she was going to get attached to him but she was not . “Her sister Josephine,reminded us of her conventional thought that women should attach themselves to their husbands”(Kate Chopin 's View on Death and Freedom in the story Of An Hour,1). After that Mrs Mallard wanted her time alone in the room nobody actually knew how she felt in reality. She had a conflict in her life. Mrs. Mallard had her own experiences and thoughts. Love , freedom, and marriage were her things. Maybe she was suffering and she stuck in her mind those ideas and felty all the peace she wanted. She was not really conscious it was between her world and the actual real world she had to face. This leads to her feelings sometimes she wouldn 't love her husband , and sometimes she would and it was all mixed up into different feelings and emotions. When she saw her husband in the door she cried , but it was of happiness not sadness and it was a rare death. We as readers consider that seeing her husband shocked her and anguish when she sees her husband. The doctor eventually said a different thing that the joy killed Mrs. Mallard .” The conflict between Mrs. Mallard’s life and death becomes so irreconcilable that she finally dies of heart disease when she is told that she will see her husband come home alive instead of death in the railroad disaster.”(Kate
“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a story that has been controversial since its publication in 1894, with reviews ranging from highly critical to great acclaim. The story follows Chopin’s character Mrs. Mallard who is introduced at the same time she is receiving news of her husband’s death. The story is largely a mixture of radical views for its time, subtle meanings, and symbolism. While modern day readers read this story with an open mind, many men - of the 1890’s and much of the 1900’s - would have been outraged at its surface meaning. However, even today Chopin’s story receives criticism for being a gross portrayal of a woman's loss. This is due to the fact that many individuals continue to view the story at face value. Nevertheless, readers of Chopin’s story will find themselves reacting either one extreme or the other. But it is this reader participation that is crucial in determining what the story will be. Despite all beliefs, Mrs. Mallard is a woman who is stuck in her time trying to escape society’s constraints, develop her own identity, all while “coping” with the loss of her husband.