Dreams Versus Reality In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

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Was it just a Dream? Dreams versus reality. Kate Chopin's short story, "The Story of an Hour", was first published December 6th, 1894, in the magazine, Vogue. It was originally titled, "The Dream of an Hour". It was reprinted in the St. Louis Life in January 5th, 1895, with the title we know now. Changing the title can give a different perspective on how we can interpret the story. When her husband, Brently Mallard, is dead due to a railroad disaster, no one wants to tell her that he has died. It could be because she is weak, in some way, and her sister, Josephine, is scared that the news may kill her. That would be the reality of the story. If this is was a dream, no one tells her because she maybe, subconsciously, feeling guilty that she is thinking about her husband's death. Most people would feel guilty about dreaming of a life without a certain individual, their freedom from that person. "She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial" (180). Most people think, to have those types of thoughts, would not be acceptable. Louise did have those …show more content…

At the end of the story, when she "wakes" and goes downstairs and finds her husband walking through the door, is it's too much of a shock for her to take and it ends up killing her? "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills" (181). The shock and realization that her freedom is gone kills her. However, you can also argue that the end was still part of the dream. She did not walk down stairs to find her husband alive and that she did not die. The dream may have been a subconscious thought, that your freedom may end up killing you. A warning to her. "She breathed a quick prayer that her life might be long. It was only yesterday she thought with a shudder that her life might be long" (181). Now, she may have no life at

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