More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays on the story of an hour
Kate Chopin's feminist view
How is feminism present in the story of an hour by kate chopin
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Freedom and The Story Of An Hour
When I first read Kate Chopin's "The Story Of An Hour", my instinctual response was to sympathize with the character of Mrs. Mallard. This seemed to me to have been intended by the author because the story follows her emotional path from the original shock upon hearing of her husband's supposed death to her gradual acceptance of the joy she feels in anticipating her new freedom to the irony of her own sudden death. However, one fact cannot be overlooked when judging my personal reaction to this piece. Because this story's theme is basically an issue of what a woman has the right to expect from her life, the fact that I am a woman living in a society where freedom and independence are valued above all else weighs heavily on the way I look upon the actions of Mrs. Mallard and also on the way I judge Chopin's message.
It is interesting to note that even in the story's opening, before Mrs. Mallard's response has run it's full course, her reaction to the news of the accident which is presumed to have killed her husband is already being contrasted to the one which society would deem appropriate. It is mentioned that "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance"(pg 275, P3). Though upon discussion of the story I found that this sentence had placed a kernel of suspicion in the minds of some as to the authenticity of Mrs. Mallard's display of emotion, I had taken once, with sudden, wild abandonment"(pg 275, P3) endeared her to me all the more because I felt that it meant she was very much in touch with the workings of her heart andimmediately at their mercy, and this made her reacti...
... middle of paper ...
.... As a woman who wants what these women wanted, I find this hard to grapple with. I appreciate the fact that this story was written in a time when feminism was unheard of, but I wish that Chopin, who had been liberated enough to conceive of a character who would think like Mrs. Mallard, could also have imagined a situation in which she could have survived.
Work Cited:
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of An Hour." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 106-109.
Works Consulted:
Cixous, Helene. "Laugh of the Medusa." Feminisms: An Anthology of Literary Theory And Criticism. Ed. Robyn R. Warhol and Diane Price Herndl. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1991.
Moi, Toril. Sexual/Textual Politics. New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1988.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Introduction to Literature: Reading, Analyzing, and Writing.2nd ed.
Like in many tragically true stories, it would seem Mrs. Mallard 's freedom came too late. Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour” begins by introducing Mrs. Mallard as a person afflicted with heart trouble. The story builds on this by having Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine and her husband Richard explain the situation in a very sensitive manner. Their efforts would prove to be in vain however as Mrs. Mallard then proceeds to emotionally break down. The news shocks Mrs. Mallard to her very core and has her at odds with how she should feel now that all was said and done. After coming to terms with her situation, fate delivers its final blow in a cruel and deceitful ploy towards Mrs. Mallards. And with that, Mrs. Mallard 's dies. In her hour of change Mrs. Mallard 's was delicate, thoughtful and excitable.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2010. 261-263. Print.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanich, 1991. 487. Print.
the course of the play. As the plays goes on she is more outspoken and
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
Throughout the story Chopin uses many ironic instances and symbols to illustrate the meaning of several major aspects of the story, we learn a lot more of the main character Mrs. Mallard and we come to an understanding that she did not recognize a world outside of herself.
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.”
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 4th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martins, 1997. 12-15.
Chopin, Kate. A. “The Story of an Hour.” Baym 1609-1611.
Using a different critiquing approach such as the biographical/historical analysis when reading the literary work could also critique this story. Using this analysis, one will understand from the story, the time period that it was written and Mrs. Mallard’s struggle with her feelings of independence. During the 19th century it was acceptable for a woman to be a widow so her new found freedom would have been a smooth transition for her.
The story begins on quite a dark note, with the death of Brentley Mallard, husband of Louise Mallard. As the reader soon finds out that Mrs. Mallard the main character in the story, has many issues brought forth throughout, including what is described as a “heart trouble”; Which is the main reason right from the start that Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister, is apprehensive to break the news too bluntly. In that moment you see
Kate Chopin tells the story using a lot of symbolism and she uses irony to raise the concern of a married women who has experienced oppression. She is raising an issue and she tells the readers that women shouldn’t experience what Mrs. Mallard did and shouldn’t be trapped in the intuition of marriage and follows the rules that society has made only for women. Her use of literary devices makes the story more interesting and meaningful. Which is why this story should be in American literature
Kate Chopin is able to illuminate her stories with clever language and meaning. As well as an immense criticism as to how society oppresses the individual in the glorified institution of marriage. Through language, she is able to introduce the thought of deeper meanings. “The Story of an Hour” being a prime example of the individual that has a need for freedom for herself. Through symbolism and straightforward comments, the freedom that Mrs. Louisa Mallard is notable just as her marriage is oppressive.
more men was negated by the fact that they had to defend and so had to