Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” takes place in the late nineteenth century in the year 1894. The date is important because society at the time was a patriarchal and the role women played in society was very limited. In the story, the main character, Louise Mallard, has a heart condition and in the beginning suffers the loss of her husband, Brently Mallard. When she finds out, she weeps immediately showing her genuine sadness for the loss of her husband. Shortly after grieving, she runs to be alone in her room and finds herself gazing out her window. The images Louise sees opens her mind and she begins to feel body and soul free, this is because she can live the rest of her life for herself and is not burdened with trying to please her

Kate Chopin put the year 1894 right below the title so the reader could relate the story to what was going on in the world at that time. Men controlled much of society during this time, and the main role of women was to be under the authority of their husbands. The marriage law specified that women basically did not have any legal existence separate from their husbands. Women of the time could not own their own land or manage their own income; they had as much power as a young child or slave (“Women and the Law” 1). This shows how hard and boring life would have been for Louise Mallard because she had no legal rights. It had said in the story that Mallard was young, but already appeared much older because her life had brought so much physical and emotional exhaustion upon

Mallard’s thoughts in the last hour. The joy that kills is an ironic statement because the reader has been able to see Louise’s thoughts and how she was mostly happy for the hour she found out her husband was dead. The doctors on the other hand, had thought she was so overjoyed to see her husband walk through the door her already troubled heart could not take it. The doctors represent the society and how badly society misunderstands women like Louise. Of course they would think she was thrilled to see her husband because she loved him so much, right? It says in the story “yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter!” (Chopin) Up to this point in the story there was no doubt that Louise loved her husband, but now her new bold possession of freedom seems to be valued more than that of the love for her husband. Louise’s thoughts throughout the story are not the norm for society, and people of that time would not suspect a wife who just found out her husband had passed away to feel joy looking forward to what her life is about to become. Early on in the story it said Louise “was young, with a fair, calm face” and had “a dull stare in her eyes”, but later in the story it says “There was feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” (Chopin) These particular quotes show the change in how Louise was