If the use of Labov's elements in literary anecdotes were what determined the success of a storyteller, Kate Chopin's The Kiss would not be the famous story it is today. In this piece of literature, Chopin manipulates Labov's elements by using some and removing others to give the story a sense of unpredictability, thus making it easier for Chopin to convey the theme of control, or the lack of, through a turning point that contradicts the reader's, and the character's, expectations. To begin with, the element that is most evident, albeit through its absence, is the abstract. In storytelling, usually in natural narratives, the abstract is an overarching statement that sums up the events of the story. The fact that it is not present in 'The Kiss', …show more content…
causes the story to have an aura of unpredictability as the reader does not know the final outcome, the lesson of the narrative or the reason the author has chosen this specific story. The fact that the reader does not know what to expect allows Chopin to withhold important information about characters and plot to shape the story, consciously or subconsciously, in a way that ultimately conveys the theme of control by making the reader focus on the main character and her understanding of the situation rather than the ending of the story. It also means the reader is easily swayed by evidence provided in the text, as they formulate opinions over what will happen and what Chopin's message is. Interestingly, Chopin lures the reader in with orientation.
The author uses said element to distract the reader from the lack of abstract by presenting the challenge of figuring out what the abstract should be through a dramatic introduction and drawing out the underlying tension throughout the narrative. The orientation is present throughout the story, creating images for the reader to interpret and offering information to manipulate the reader's the characters and the situation they are in. Using this particular Labov's element, Chopin builds Nathalie's character as a composed individual who gains authority over the path her life takes by manipulating those around her then adds small lines of evaluation to reinforce the orientation. Even though the evaluation is scarce, every line of it supports the concept of Nathalie as a shrewd and controlling individual. Nathalie thinks of herself as "a chess player who, by the clever handling of his pieces, sees the game taking the course intended" (Chopin 20). Nathalie's character is built on her innate need to be in control of her life and the people in it, to the extent that she dehumanizes others and only thinks of them as assets she can use for her benefit. This small excerpt also encourages the reader to believe that Nathalie has, in fact, succeeded in creating the life she desires, or in other words, controlling the path her life takes. The combination of the reader's uncertainty of how the story will end and the evidence that …show more content…
indicates that Nathalie is the one "handling the pieces" (Chopin 20) of her life, causes the reader to believe that Nathalie is the one in control of the events in this text. When the reader begins to believe a certain party within the story is the one managing the plot of the anecdote, it allows Chopin to project the theme of control by creating a false semblance of authority in the reader. Lastly, the final portion of 'The Kiss' is what drives home the lack of control that has been underlying throughout the narration.
The resolution is where an important turning point manifests itself, when Harvy tells Nathalie he has "stopped kissing women; it's dangerous"(Chopin, 21). The resolution, and more specifically the turning point, makes the uncertainty caused by the absence of abstract to resurface and highlights the true lack of control that the main character has over her situation and those involved. In the resolution, despite Nathalie and the reader's confidence in her ability to manipulate the pieces of her life, Harvy rejects her, proving that Nathalie wasn't truly in control of the situation to begin with and contradicting what the reader has been led to believe would happen. By giving the reader no basis as to what will happen then encouraging them to trust a certain character's power in the course of events only to use the resolution to show that no one truly controls the story, Chopin has effectively structured her anecdote in a way that projects the theme of lack of control especially over other individuals. In addition to this, the coda is present in the last sentence of the story when Nathalie thinks a "person can't have everything in this world and it was a little unreasonable of her to expect it" (Chopin, 21). This sentence effectively does what a coda is supposed to do by drawing attention away from the story and making it seem pointless to begin
with. As Nathalie accepts that it was unrealistic of her to expect everything to go her way, Chopin ends her story with a coda that relates to the purpose or theme of the story, much like an abstract would, while also drawing away from the events within the text. In conclusion, Chopin's choices regarding the structure of her anecdote and the manipulation of Labov's elements actively affect the way the reader interacts with the story. Through her decisions about which elements to use and which to remove, the author effectively conveyed the theme of lack of control over events and other people.
The book is a poem about love the way it is meant to be, and he stresses and explains “the kiss” that is constantly being portrayed. “Shall I not find that a richer grace is poured out upon me from him whom the Father has anointed with the oil of gladness more than all his companions, if he will deign to kiss me with the kiss of his mouth” (Page 216).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Mayer, Gary H. "A MATTER OF BEHAVIOR: A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF FIVE KATE CHOPIN STORIES." et Cetera 67.1 (2010): 94-100. ProQuest. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
She shows her readers that society gives women to option. Woman can be the perfect woman that love her children and husband only, and wants nothing more and nothing less. The other option is to live alone with nobody to love. She does this by creating two character are perfect mold of the two option. Madame Ratignolle who represents the mole of a perfect mother and wife, or living all alone and keeping to herself like the character Mademoiselle Reisz. Chopin shows her readers that not all women can fit these two molds, and she lets the readers now that nothing is wrong with having to create your own mold. You can still be a good mother, wife, and woman even if you are not living by society 's
The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and ‘”The Hand” by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette are similar in theme and setting. Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and Kate Chopin create the theme of obligatory love and the unhappiness it entails. Both stories illustrate the concealed emotions many women feel in their marriage yet fail to express them. The two stories take place in a sacred room of the house and both transpire in a brief amount of time. The differences between the two stories are seen through the author’s choice of characters in each story. In “The story of an Hour” Kate Chopin involves other characters in Mrs. Mallard’s life, whereas, “The Hand” deals with marriage and togetherness and only involves the husband and wife. Symbolism is seen all throughout “The Hand” not so in ‘The Story of an Hour.” The similarities in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Hand” is portrayed in theme and setting. The differences are illustrated in the choice of characters involved in each story and the amount of symbolism depicted in the different stories.
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.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” allows one to explore many ironic instances throughout the story, the main one in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate the struggles of reaching personal freedom and trying to be true to yourself to reach self-assertion while being a part of something else, like a marriage. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husband, yet Chopin uses several ironic situations and certain symbols to criticize the behavior of Mrs. Mallard during the time of her “loving” husband’s assumed death.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” An Introduction to Literature. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 15th ed. New York: Longman, 2008. 193-199
Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" proves to be a timeless short story. Although this story was written in the nineteenth century, it is still reflective and relevant of today's society. It is still popular in many high schools and college classrooms. A critical examination of this piece of literature can be done using character analysis. This is an important tool in analyzing the meanings "between the lines" in this story. Mrs. Mallard is the main character and therefore plays the most important role in the story. This makes it necessary to examine her character in order to gain insights into the story's meaning. Several key elements relating to her personality surface in the story. These elements give insights into her feelings and her thoughts. The character analysis shows Mrs. Mallard is portrayed as insensitive, selfish and a wishful thinker.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Approaching Literature: Reading + Writing + Thinking, Third Edition. Ed. Schakel, Peter J, and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 233-234. Print.
Kate Chopin was a woman and a writer far ahead of her time. She was a realistic fiction writer and one of the leaders and inspirational people in feminism. Her life was tragic and full of irregular events. In fact, this unusual life had an enormous effect on her writings and career. She depicted the lifestyle of her time in her works. In most of her stories, people would find an expansion of her life’s events. In her two stories “The Storm” and “The Story of One Hour” and some of her other works she denoted a lot of her life’s events. Kate Chopin is one of those writers who were influenced by their life and surrounded environment in their fiction writing, and this was very clear in most of her works.
Storytelling has been a common pastime for centuries. Over the years it has evolved into different styles containing different themes. Kate Chopin, a well-known author of the 20th century, wrote stories about the secrets in women’s lives that no one dared to speak of. Her work was not always appreciated and even considered scandalous, but it opened up a world that others were too afraid to touch. In Chopin’s story “The Storm,” a woman has an affair that causes an unlikely effect. The story’s two themes are portrayed greatly through an abundance of imagery and symbolism, along with the two main characters themselves.
In "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin tells the story of a woman, Mrs. Mallard, whose husband is thought to be dead. Throughout the story, Chopin describes the emotions Mrs. Mallard felt about the news of her husband's death. However, the strong emotions she felt were not despair or sadness, they were something else. In a way, she was relieved more than she was upset, and almost rejoiced in the thought of her husband no longer living. In using different literary elements throughout the story, Chopin conveys this to us on more than one occasion.
There were more clues to unpack than expected but once I realized the writing style of Kate Chopin I enjoyed reading each sentence to pick out the hidden meaning. Xuding Wang’s essay was helpful seeing what I could not see on my own. The point that grabbed me out of Wang’s essay was the critic, Berkove, whom as I mentioned earlier in this analysis seemed to be the same blockade to women that Chopin wrote about in 1894. To know the character in the story you must know the writer. Kate Chopin was called a rebel in her time. Her stories were a call to action by women and to go as far as Berkove did and call those ideas delusional make him seem out dated and controlling. I can only experience what I do in life. I’ll never understand challenges faced by people of other races, cultures, or sex. Reading the original story and another woman’s discussion on it was very enlightening. There were emotions described that I’ve never considered. With a critic like Berkove using language as he did in the critique against Chopin’s work it makes me curious just how far our society has come. Racism is still alive and well, religious persecution and in this story, sexism. It seems to me that the world has never really changed and will continue to bring with it the same problems as the days
Women are not to have an opinion on their role in society because they are nothing but a possession to men. While Edna is going through this quest she is hit with the wave of societies restrictions. Another idea throughout the novel proposes the narrator of the novel is at the end unable to follow what Edna is doing. This technique that Chopin uses further exemplifies how out of the normal it is for Edna to go against society. It also shows the shift in the author's attitude towards Edna and that her “Perception is quite wrong” (xiango).
Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a brilliant short story of irony and emotion. The story demonstrates conflicts that take us through the character’s emotions as she finds out about the death of her husband. Without the well written series of conflicts and events this story, the reader would not understand the depth of Mrs. Mallard’s inner conflict and the resolution at the end of the story. The conflict allows us to follow the emotions and unfold the irony of the situation in “The Story of an Hour.”