Chopin's The Story Of An Hour And Emancipation: A Life Fable

781 Words2 Pages

In both her short stories The Story of an Hour and Emancipation: A Life Fable, Kate Chopin presents the them that no matter how terrifying freedom can be, it is always superior to confinement. She does this using literary devises such as tone, symbols and irony.
The two texts convey the theme of freedom over confinement by the use of symbols. In The Story of an Hour, after Mrs. Mallard rushes to her room she sits down in a comfortable chair and “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were aquiver with new spring and life.” The open window symbolizes freedom and opportunities that await her now that her husband is gone. Everything she is experiencing while looking out the window suggests feelings of joy and …show more content…

In The Story of an Hour when Mrs. Mallard walks down the stairs she sees someone opening the door. “It was Brently Mallard who entered.” At the sight of seeing her husband she dies instantly and the doctors claim it was “a joy that kills.” This is an example of situational irony in that the doctors believe it was it was happiness that killed her while in reality Mrs. Mallard was feeling anything from happiness when she saw her husband. It was the thought of returning to the limitations and loss of freedom that comes with marriage that led to her death. In Emancipation: A Life Fable when the animal had the choice between going back to the cage and facing the dangers that come with freedom he chose the latter. And “So does he live, seeking, finding, joying and suffering. The door which accident had opened is opened still, but the cage remains forever empty!” While the animal is hesitant at first he eventually choses freedom even though he faces great dangers and suffering. Both texts display the theme through irony that no matter how difficult freedom is, people have a natural tendency to gravitate towards it in opposition to the limitations and repression of

Show More
Related

  • How Does Kate Chopin Use Syntax In The Story Of An Hour

    241 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the short story, “Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses diction and syntax to demonstrate that as much as one yearns for freedom, it might not be everlasting.

    Read More

  • The Story of An Hour Theme

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Loss And Death In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the title puts it, “The Story of an Hour” takes place in the span of an hour. The title of the story also shows the possibility of occurrences within a single hour. This story is mostly centered around one woman, Louis Mallard. In conventional circumstances, death brings sorrow, grief, seclusion, guilt, regrets, along with other feeling depending on the cause of death. In “The Story of an Hour”, sorrow and grief are a product of the recent happenings, however, these feelings are coupled with joy and independence. Kate Chopin uses this story to convey death as a joyful circumstance whereas conventionally it is portrayed as sorrowful.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour. Kate Chopin was a Victorian writer whose writing manifests her life experiences. She was not happy with the principles of the time, because women had fewer rights, and they were not considered equal to men. Afraid of segregation from society, people lived in a hypocritical world full of lies; moreover, Kate Chopin was not afraid of segregation, and used her writing as a weapon against oppression of the soul.

    Read More

  • Death After Freedom in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Written by Kate Chopin, the short story “The Story of an Hour” follows Louise Mallard, a woman from the nineteenth century who has just received the news that her husband, Brently Mallard, has passed away in a horrific train accident. Immediately Mrs. Mallard is overcome with grief and sorrow, but her mood quickly shifts when she realizes the independence and free-will she will now have. At the climax of her elation for the future, her husband walks through the door. Mrs. Mallard, shocked and speechless, dies of a heart attack. In the short story, "The Story of an Hour," author Kate Chopin utilizes symbolism, diction, and irony to emphasize the effects of Mrs. Mallard's newfound sense of freedom, and how that ultimately results in her death.

    Read More

  • Kate CHopin's Story of an Hour

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" the author portrays patriarchal oppression in the institution of marriage by telling the story of one fateful hour in the life of a married woman. Analyzing the work through feminist criticism, one can see the implications of masculine discourse.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour - A Big Story in a Small Space

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    Story of an Hour – A Big Story in a Small Space. Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" tells the story of a woman trapped in a repressive marriage, who desperately wants to escape. She is given that chance, quite by accident, and the story tells of the hour in which this freedom is given to her. The story is very short (only two pages), so is interesting to look at as a minimalist piece of literature, and the surprise ending offers an opportunity to look at Chopin's use of foreshadowing.

    Read More

  • Essay on Setting in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Setting exists in every form of fiction, representing elements of time, place, and social context throughout the work. These elements can create particular moods, character qualities, or features of theme. Throughout Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," differing amounts and types of the setting are revealed as the plot develops. This story deals with a young woman's emotional state as she discovers her own independence in her husband's death, then her "tragic" discovery that he is actually alive. The constituents of setting reveal certain characteristics about the main character, Louise Mallard, and are functionally important to the story structure. The entire action takes place in the springtime of a year in the 1890s, in the timeframe of about an hour, in a house belonging to the Mallards. All of these aspects of setting become extremely relevant and significant as the meaning of the story unfolds.

    Read More

  • Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s story “The Story of an Hour” focuses on a married woman who does not find happiness in her marriage. When she hears of her husband’s death, the woman does not grieve for long before relishing the idea of freedom. Chopin’s story is an example of realism because it describes a life that is not controlled by extreme forces. Her story is about a married nineteenth-century woman with no “startling accomplishments or immense abilities” (1271). Chopin stays true to reality and depicts a life that seems as though it could happen to any person.

    Read More

  • The Struggle For Freedom In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, the struggle for freedom is dominant. The main character, Mrs. Mallard, stands for a woman who is struggling internally and externally for freedom. After the sudden loss of her husband, Mrs. Mallard gets a taste of the freedom she was lacking in her marriage. Like Mrs. Mallard, women throughout history have struggled to find freedom and success away from their husbands. Chopin herself only became successful after the loss of her husband. In “The Story of an Hour”, Chopin shows women’s struggle for freedom during the Victorian period through Mrs. Mallard’s struggle for her own freedom.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another example of how Mrs. Mallard was more uplifted than brought down by the news of her husband?s death is the description of the window. As Mrs. Mallard looks out Chopin explains ?she could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all a quiver with new life?. This is telling the reader about the new life that Mrs. Mallard can see in the distance that symbolizes the new life she saw that lay ahead of her now that she was free of her husband. This thought being supported by Hicks in saying "The revalation of freedom occurs in the bedroom"

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis on Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” focuses on a woman named Louise Mallard and her reaction to finding out about her husband’s death. The descriptions that the author uses in the story have significance in the plot because they foreshadow the ending.

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Analysis

    404 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kate Chopin's story, "The Story of an Hour", focuses on an 1890's young woman, Louise Mallard. She experienced a profound emotional change after she hears her husband's "death" and her life ends with her tragic discovery that he is actually alive. In this story, the author uses various techniques-settings, symbolism and irony- to demonstrate and develop the theme: Freedom is more important than love.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Freedom In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kate Chopin, author of “The Story of an Hour” written in 1894 was the first author who emphasized strongly on femininity in her work. In the short story, Chopin writes about freedom and confinement Chopin is an atypical author who confronts feminist matter years before it was assumed. The time period that she wrote in women were advertised as a man’s property. The main idea in the short story is to illustrate that marriage confines women. In “The Story of an Hour” the author creates an intricate argument about freedom and confinement Mrs. Louise Mallard longing for freedom, but has been confined for so long freedom seems terrible. Mrs. Mallard wife of Brently Mallard instantly feels free when her husband dies. The reason she feels this way

    Read More

  • Three Readers Response to The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    My belief on marriage is a sacred vow taken by two people which joins them in union. Most people carry the belief that marriage should occur only when two people are in love; although this belief is common it is not always the case and people marry for a variety of reasons. In the short story "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin suggests that in the case of Mrs. Mallard and Mr. Mallard, love was not a deciding factor for their reason to get married. Though the response of three readers, one being myself, we will explore the character of Mrs. Mallard and the idea of love in her marriage. Kate Chopin has given little detail about the Mallards and therefore left much to the imagination of the reader. Although there are similarities in details between readers such as: point of view, setting, and character, each reader brings new perspective and ideas. This type of analysis of the text allows a richer and more knowledgeable outlook; not only by enhancing ones own ideas by introducing new ones.

    Read More

More about Chopin's The Story Of An Hour And Emancipation: A Life Fable

Open Document