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Kate chopin feminism critical analysis
Feminism in kate chopin the story of an hour
Kate chopin feminism critical analysis
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Feminist Perspectives in a Story of an Hour
A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time, by Ann Bail Howard, discusses the nature of the female characters in Kate Chopin’s novel’s and short stories. Howard suggests that the women in Chopin’s stories are longing for independence and feel torn between the feminine duties of a married woman and the freedom associated with self-reliance. Howard’s view is correct to a point, but Chopin’s female characters can be viewed as more radically feminist than Howard realizes. Rather than simply being torn between independent and dependant versions of her personality, “The Story of an Hour’s” Mrs. Mallard actually rejoices in her newfound freedom, and, in the culmination of the story, the position of the woman has actually been elevated above that of the man, suggesting a much more radically feminist reading than Howard cares to persue.
Much of what Howard has to say about Chopin’s protagonists is appropriate. Her criticism operates from the standpoint that “marriage, said Chopin’s world, was the goal of every woman’s life; service to her husband and her children her duties, passionlessness and submission her assumed virtues, selflessness her daily practice, and self sacrifice her pleasure” (1). Mrs. Mallard definitely lives in a world where these gender values abound. Chopin, for example, describes Mrs. Mallard’s face as one “ whose lines bespoke repression” (439). This is obviously a direct reference to the submission Mrs. Mallard has had to yield up to the patriarchy thus far. She has always had a “powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (440). Her husband’s will is describ...
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... as the martyr who dies for feminism, ultimately choosing death over marriage. This ending inevitably elevates the woman’s position to the highest status, while the men are made to look silly and unaware.
When Howard asserts that “it is the woman who demands her own direction and chooses her own freedom that interests Chopin most” (1) she is right on target. Howard only fails when she chooses not to expand that vision to include the truly feminist perspectives that differentiate Chopin as a woman far ahead of her time.
Works Cited
Howard, Ann Bail. “A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time”. 1997. Online.
Virginia Commonwealth University English Department.
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/chopinhoward.htm.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour”.The Norton Introduction to Literature 7th Ed.
Ed. Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. New York: Norton, 1998. 438-440.
Reading carefully, one realizes that Chopin’s true model of feminism lies in Mademoiselle Reisz, who is happy to live alone and unmarried despite what society dictates a woman’s role to be. Mademoiselle Reisz is an accomplished pianist to whom Edna turns for advice as she struggles to find her sense of self. Unlike Mademoiselle Reisz, however, Edna lacks the motivation and willpower necessary to follow her desires from thought to fruition.
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers and nurturers of the children. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men, society, and within a woman herself. Even though these stories were written during the 19th century when modern society treated women as second class citizens, in “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin illustrates how feminine power manifests when the female characters are able to discover their freedom.
Kate Chopin was born Katherine O’Flaherty on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis Missouri (213). Chopin had grown up in comfortable circumstances and began her life as a contemporary young woman (213). In 1888, six years after the death of her husband, Oscar Chopin, Kate subsequently became seriously committed to furthering her literary career (214). Chopin is oftentimes noted to be “a women who lived before her time, whose stories might be seen as a vindication of the rights of women, and an author whose literary works were controversial and unappreciated until many years later” (TheStorm&FeministPhilosophy.com). This description of Chopin’s work is distinctly evident in one of most distinguished short stories “The Storm”. Sarah Orne Jewett was born on September 3, 1849. Jewett began her writing career dedicated to writing poems and short stories for children; eventually she turned her attention to writing for adults (194). Through her mastery of “local-color” writing, Jewett emerged as one of the most respected authors in the United States (194). Jewett’s short story “The White Heron” vividly displays her use of “local-color”. Both “The Storm” and “The White Heron” embody a common theme of feminism, specifically the aspect of women’s choice. Although both works embody this theme, Chopin and Jewett take differing approaches in fulfilling it; “The Storm” takes a shockingly erotic approach in revealing the theme while The White Heron” takes a “softer” approach in exposing it.
Kate Chopin was a female writer whose radical viewpoints on life and sexism were not looked upon highly during her time period. In the late nineteenth century, she wrote and published her stories when it was custom for women to conduct themselves in a certain “womanly,” manner at all times. On the contrary, men could experience the world and did not have to follow as strict of a “code of conduct.” This conduct is what most likely fueled Chopin’s style of writing. Sexual drive and sexual feelings, expressed by females, was frowned upon in society and in writing in the nineteenth century, which was primarily the focus of Chopin’s writings. She writes about women in the different stages of liberation from men, which led to the overwhelming amount of criticism and oppression towards her style of writing. As many people do, Chopin included her...
With an author ahead of her time, Kate Chopin challenged the ideas of how women should be seen socially. Chopin frankly portrays women as emotional, intelligent and sexual beings. While it might seem that Chopin offers positive examples of female characters, in actuality they are complicated, messy and ultimately negative. All of her main female character seem to experience self-awareness, something very important at that time period because while women had feelings and thoughts, they weren't recognized by society, these feelings of independence and discovery are often temporary, still bound to social limitations. In some cases, it requires the Chopin brings attention to women's internal struggles with themselves and who they are told to be in a society that dismisses female autonomy, she doesn't do anything to solve or change them. It often appears that there is a choice between being independent or being married because identity is often lost in marriage and characters are unable to find a balance, making the characters hopeless.
Kate Chopin is very well known for her extremely unique writing. Not only are her works striking of feminism, but the way she approached topics were not easily tolerated at that time especially for her gender. Many of her stories tie into marriage and the unhappiness that it brings. In Desiree’s Baby Chopin says, “And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him…” Comparing the woman’s husband to that of Satan shows the intensity of disgust between the two in the relationship. Strong statements such as these are often seen in “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour.” In Chopin’s life she was married, and her stories lead me to believe that she viewed her marriage as a trap and suffered from lack of privacy and control. Despite how provoking Chopin’s works were she was long ignored by readers and critics until her stories hit the surface in the 1960’s and became more popular. The women in her stories are constantly seeking freedom, lust, and attention.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tries to shed light on the conflict between women and a society that assigns gender roles using a patriarchal approach. Specifically, Margaret Bauer highlights, that most of Chopin’s works revolve around exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146). Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour” Chopin depicts a society that oppresses women mostly through the institution of marriage, as women are expected to remain submissive regardless of whether they derive any happiness. The question of divorce is not welcome, and it is tragic that freedom for women can only be realized through death. According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dreams and impose their will on their wives (149).
Chopin reflects her rejection of the “postures of femininity” through her character’s descriptions. She describes her as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression.” Describing her as young and calm are what men looked for in a wife in the 19th century. They wanted a submissive woman to tend to their needs as Chopin’s description suggests. Furthermore, Chopin says of her character Mrs. Mallard, “she would live for herself.” Her character believes she will now be free of her marriage, and won’t be “repressed” as aforementioned any longer by her husband. Wives had a natural servitude towards their husbands as husbands worked and went about their lives. All in all, Chopin displays her character as having a joyous moment after the death of her husband because she is let go of being forced into her “femininity.”
...aspell, and Kate Chopin, as they all showed how women were oppressed, repressed, and suppressed under the male figures in their lives and under biased gender roles. The negative qualities of marriage weren't the only thing stopping women from reaching their full potential; it was also a combination of women having to put up false appearances and hiding their true intelligence and nature and it was this combination that lead women to be forbidden from having joy and independence in their lives. Although the men did try a little to be nice to their wives and/or female counterparts, they were, for the most part, condescending and brutish. This essentially led to women being forced to escape their emotional shackles by any means necessary, which may have not ended well for the women; however in all cases, it led them to lead the life that they could control themselves.
As feminism advocates for the freedom of women and equality among the genders, Chopin’s story reveals how women do not feel equal at home and in marriage. Her feminist ideology can be seen heavily when she writes, “There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” (18). The freedom expressed for Louise in “The Story of an Hour” is exactly what the feminist movement had worked
For one, brief hour she was an individual. Now she finds herself bound by masculine oppression with no end in sight, and the result is death.
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.
Xuding Wang writes in her essay, Feminine Self-Assertion in “The Story of an Hour”, a strong defense for Kate Chopin’s classic work, “The Story of an Hour”. Wang provides powerful proof that one of the pioneering feminist writers had a genuine desire to push the issue of feminine inequality. Even decades later, Xuding Wang fights for the same ground as Kate Chopin before her. She focuses on critic Lawrence I. Berkove, who challenges that Louise Mallard is delusional with her personal feelings of freedom once she discovers the news that her husband has passed away. The story opens with the line “Knowing Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble” (Chopin). [1] Chopin uses allegory to describe
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
“The Story of an Hour” expresses the difficulties of being a women in the late 1800’s in South America due to the issues of gender inequalities. This story, written by Kate Chopin, who was a married woman in late 1800’s, provides the perspective of a young married women who has limited freedom and is largely controlled by her husband. Throughout this story gender norms are clearly displayed in different ways. One clear example is when Mrs. Mallard, the protagonist, is expected to act a specific way when she hears the news of her dead husband, yet she feels the extreme opposite. The narrator then does a great job of expressing the reality of how Mrs. Mallard is truly feeling and uses that as a way to express the control as a conflict. The outcome