Compare And Contrast Kate Choppin's Writing Style

Kate Chopin is a phenomenal writer, with two published novels and over one hundred short stories, not only does her writing style keep the reader intrigued, but also the setting, dialect, and history behind her work tell a story all its own. Chopin uses contrast in her writing "The Story of an Hour" through the hints about the quality of Mr. And Mrs. Mallard 's marriage, Mrs. Mallards emotions toward her husband 's death, and Mrs. Mallards death to emphasize her theme of gender roles in a time when women had no rights.

The first example of contrast is in the quality of Mr. And Mrs. Mallards marriage. To understand Chopin 's clever style, the reader must consider the time period for the setting of the story. Written in 1894 during the Women 's Suffrage Movement, in other words, women fought to get the right to vote and be seen as equals. "There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature" (

Mallards death. After Mrs. Mallard imagines her new found life and goes down stairs "Someone was opening the door with a latchkey. It was Brentley Mallard, who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one" (58) When he walks in Mrs. Mallard dies. The timing of Mrs. Mallards death is also a symbol of her new found freedom coming to an end literally and physically. All the characters in Chopin 's story believe that Mrs. Mallard has died of happiness, but the clues throughout the story lead the reader to the true cause of death. Dramatic irony, such as "when the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills" (58) brings the reader back to the quality of the Mallards ' relationship and really sparks the interest to decipher the