The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin is written in a past period where women didn't obtain any rights. The main character, Louis Mallard has learned that her husband died in a train crash. Ms.Mallard is initially overwhelmed with sadness but as time passes she realizes that she is now free from her husband’s authority and this brings her great happiness. Ms.Mallard feels a sense of victory with her freedom when suddenly her husband returns, alive. Ms.Mallard dies soon after of a heart attack. Chopin’s writing style is engaging because she uses dramatic irony to force the reader to put together the pieces of Ms.Mallard’s real cause of death. In addition to dramatic irony, symbolism in the weather outside Ms. Mallard’s window is used to convey her views on life. Chopin uses both weather symbolism and dramatic irony to produce her writing style. When Ms.Mallard learns that her husband has passed away, she goes to her room to …show more content…
After Brently Mallard walked into the house, Chopin gives little to no detail about Ms.Mallard’s death. The reader knows that she is dead because in last paragraph the doctor states that “...she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills.” The doctor and other characters in the story believe that at the view of her husband’s presence, Ms.Mallard became overjoyed and her heart failed. In reality she had a heart attack because of shock, her freedom was suddenly taken right from her. This is where dramatic irony comes into play, only the reader knows the truth because they were let in on the emotions Ms.Mallard was feeling in her bedroom. Kate Chopin uses symbolism in weather in The Story of an Hour, to reflect Ms.Mallard's opinions and emotional state. Chopin also uses dramatic irony to let the reader experience the real truth behind Ms.Mallard’s death. These aspects of literature helps to create chopin’s distinctive writing
“Story of an Hour”, written by Kate Chopin presents a woman of the nineteenth century who is held back by societal constraints. The character, Louise Mallard, is left to believe that her husband has passed away. She quickly falls into a whirlwind of emotions as she sinks into her chair. Soon a sense of freedom overwhelms her body as she looks through the window of opportunity and times to come. She watches the world around her home run free as nature runs its course. Louise watches the blue sky as a rush of “monstrous joy” shoots through her veins (Chopin). She experiences a new sense of freedom. Although she sometimes loved her husband, his “death” breaks the chain that keeps her from experiencing a truly free life. Thoughts over times to
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
Mrs. Mallard, in the story, had heart trouble and was carefully let down when they had discovered her husband’s death. Chopin said, “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (307). Throughout the entire story the reader is lead to believe she is sad over her husband’s death; when in reality she feels free again and she cries tears of joy. The story continues to tell the reader about Mrs. Mallard’s grievance, “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she had saw beyond that bitter moment a long with love upon her fixed and gray and dead. But her absolutely” (Chopin 307). Mrs. Mallard looked forward to being free from her husband even though she loved him sometimes. She kept whispering, “free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin 308). As her sister thought she was weeping tears of sadness, Mrs. Mallard was happy. As Mrs. Mallard collected herself, she and her sister walked down to the bottom of the stairs together. The door began to open, it was her husband Brentley Mallard, and Mrs. Mallard passed away from “hear disease- of joy that kills” (Chopin 308). The situational irony in this story is Mrs. Mallard
To begin with the first display of symbolism in the story is Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble representing her dissatisfaction with her marriage and unhappiness. Chopin lets the reader know in the beginning that Mrs. Mallard is ill. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (57). ...
In The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin uses foreshadowing of Mrs. Mallards death when it was stated at the beginning that she had heart problems. The Story of an Hour has two kinds of irony situational and dramatic irony. The situational irony is that her supposedly dead husband shows up and the dramatic irony is that the doctors state that she died of “the joy that kills” even though we know that it wasn’t joy that killed her but rather sadness because she lost her freedom she just thought she had obtained. The point of view used in The Story of an Hour is third person limited which is effective for the telling of the story because it allows us to be aware of Louise’s response to her husband’s death after she locked herself in her room.
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a clear example of how Mrs. Mallard will not recognize that she feels like a prisoner, but the moment she knows that her husband is “dying”, she feels freedom instead of sadness. Mrs. Mallard has a heart disease and Richards try to tell her the news carefully so she won’t suffer an attack. The house is her place but she feels like a prisoner and after the news she feels like is she is release from the house. She is happy but when she sees her husband on the door she feel like everything will go back to the way it was. Mrs. Mallard is a women with thoughts about her freedom, she will imagine about what she will ever want, she will look outside the window and look at the new life. explore the men’s world.
Mallard at the end of the story stands for the suffrage of women during this time to be free. She would rather die than lose her newfound freedom. Chopin’s biography before the story states “[t]he loss of her husband, however, led to her assuming responsibilities…Eventually devoting herself entirely to writing” (30). Her success was found only after she was free from her marriage; Chopin herself could have been hinting to the fact the she would have rather died than lose her own freedom. Chopin also uses the heart condition to kill Mrs. Mallard. She writes “the doctors…said she had died of a heart disease—of the joy that kills” (32). The metaphor of the heart condition standing for the weakness put on women returns with her husband. She is no longer strong and free; she is weak and trapped by her marriage. Chopin uses this purposely to show that women are weak in marriage and need to be set
Nearing the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard has fully embraced her future with, "prayer[s] that life might be long." She wants to live a full life now, she is happy. When all seems well on its way her sister franticly begins knocking on her door to get her to open up because she is worried that Louise is making herself ill with despair. Far from the truth, after leaving the room the two make their way down the stairs and the front door opens with the husband walking in, Brently Mallard. This moment Mrs. Mallard 's heart stops and she falls dead. Though her heart was weak, if she was in true love and happiness with her husband she would have fell at the beginning of the story, but she does not. Chopin wishes for her to descend after she has been given the world and promises of freedom to be all she could be. Mrs. Mallard dies because of shock that her husband is still alive, she in that brief second, loses everything. Reality comes crashing upon her, life would not be free and would remain in servitude to a man she is not in love
Chopin describes her as a fragile woman. Because she was “afflicted with a heart trouble,” when she receives notification of her husband’s passing, “great care was taken” to break the news “as gently as possible” (1). Josephine, her sister, and Richards, her husband’s friend, expect her to be devastated over this news, and they fear that the depression could kill her because of her weak heart. Richards was “in the newspaper office when the intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of killed” (1). He therefore is one of the first people to know about his death. Knowing about Mrs. Mallard’s heart, he realizes that they need to take caution in letting Mrs. Mallard know about it. Josephine told her because Richards feared “any less careful, less tender” person relaying the message to Louise Mallard (1). Because of her heart trouble, they think that if the message of her husband’s death is delivered to her the wrong way, her heart would not be able to withstand it. They also think that if someone practices caution in giving her the message, that, ...
Chopin uses “The Story of an Hour” to demonstrate her belief not only in the shackles of marriage in that time, but also the cruelty of warping someone to suit your needs. When Mrs. Mallard’s husband dies she is overcome with joy rather than grief and is instilled with a sense of freedom. However, when all that seemed too good to be true is taken from her she cannot handle it and dies under the weight of this discouragement. Chopin’s theme of liberation achieved through her clever use of language drives home her idea that people should be more independent and less constrained by
“The Story of an Hour” is a short story in which Kate Chopin, the Victorian writer; whose writing illustrates her life experience. Chopin presents an often unheard of view of marriage. During the 1800’s women had limited freedom, fewer rights and, were not considered equal to men. Chopin despise the oppressive nature of marriage, she had been a victim of this institution. Kate Chopin often used the original names of people who inspires her stories (Toth 10). In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Louise Mallard, Chopin’s main character, experiences the exhilaration of freedom rather than the desolation of loneliness after she learns of her husband’s death. In “The Story of an Hour” do you think her reaction says something about women’s lack of freedom at the time? Kate Chopin’s provides a powerful message using irony, conflict, and symbolism to show that in order to have a satisfying marriage, freedom is required for both partners.
Kate Chopin’s short story "The Story of an Hour," utilizes superb symbolism and elucidating points of interest with a specific end goal to differentiation Mrs. Mallard 's everyday and dreary life. Chopin utilizes symbolism and expressive subtle elements to differentiate the rich conceivable outcomes for which Mrs. Mallard longs with the dull reality of her regular life. The main theme of this story is “the quest for identity” because Louise’s sudden self-discovery shows that she had been seeking her own identity in a male-dominated world at the time. Kate Chopin wrote this in the 19th century when males were “dominate” and females were “passive.” Mr. Brently’s "death" was what initiated her “quest for Identity” without him “dying” she would have never thought about how
Irony can often be found in many literary works. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is masterfully written full of irony. The characters of the short story, Mrs. Mallard, Josephine, Richards, Mr. Brently Mallard, and the doctors all find their way into Chopin’s ironic twists. Chopin embodies various ironies in “The Story of an Hour” through representations of verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.
People are always trying to keep it away. Someone is always guarding Mrs. Mallard against a potential shock, which could lead to her death due to her heart trouble. When the author unleashes the sad tale of how Mr. Mallard has “died” in a train accident upon the readers the characters quickly rush to Mrs. Mallard's side for any unexpected bad news, such as the death or her husband, could mean the end of Mrs. Mallard's life as well. With the constant fear of daeth lingering over the house and the worry of Mrs. Mallrd's heart problems the audience is left to worry that Mrs. Mallard will grieve herself to death over the loss of her husband. However, Mrs. Mallard is actually estatic about. The audience believes that Mr. Mallard is dead and the Mrs. Mallard will finally be able to live out her dream of being free. However, after Mr. Mallard unexpectedly returns home the author states “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease...” (Choping, 308) Death, it seems, is bound and determined to take one of the Mallard’s that day.
“Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is set in the Victorian Era and tells the story of a woman who, in one hour, faces the lows and highs and lows of life. In the beginning, Mrs.Mallard is gently informed by her sister and a friend that her husband was killed in a train accident, and she is devastated. The author writes, “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.” So, we can clearly see that the news truly upsets her. After Mrs.Mallard goes alone to her room and sits locked away in her room while looking out the window, a feeling of freedom starts to creep into her and she realizes it’s is not all bad he’s dead. The text says, “What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of possession