There are those that argue that Kate Chopin’s literary works helped launch the “modern feminist literary movement.” A common theme in Kate Chopin’s literary works is that there is opportunity for women outside of their traditional roles. A prime example of this is in Kate Chopin’s fictional short story called “The Story of An Hour.” This story was published in 1894 during a time when women were expected to be happy and fulfilled in life solely by their role as housewives. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” and in her own life is that women can find happiness outside of repressive 19th century marriages.
Mrs. Louise Mallard, the protagonist in “The Story of An Hour” feels the repression of her typical 19th century marriage. Mrs. Mallard is a young woman; however, her face has lines that “bespoke repression.” These lines are likely the result of repression that Mrs. Mallard feels in her marriage. Mrs. Mallard feels as though Brently Mallard has a “powerful will bending hers.” Mrs. Mallard feels so repressed in her marriage, that she shudders at the thought of living a
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long life together with her husband. Mrs. Mallard’s lack of self-assertion while being married was typical for married women in 1894 when “The Story of An Hour” was written. Upon hearing about her husband’s death, Mrs.
Mallard has an epiphany and realizes how much she can do on her own if her spouse’s will is not holding her back. Immediately before Mrs. Mallard has this epiphany, the narrator depicts lots of positive imagery. Louise is seeing that the “the tops of trees…were all aquiver with new spring life.” Before Mrs. Mallard recognizes her newfound freedom, she sees “patches of blue skies showing here and there through the clouds.” Lousise than realizes that without a spouse she can “live for herself.” Mrs. Louise Mallard realizes that “self-assertion” is the “strongest impulse of her being.” Mrs. Mallard looks forward to the rest of her days that “would be her own.” Mrs. Mallard murmurs the words “free, free, free!” and feels relaxed while saying it. Mrs. Mallard is looking forward to the opportunities that have opened for her as a single
woman. One can say that the themes of freedom and self-assertion that Mrs. Mallard envisions experiencing without a husband reflects the events of Kate Chopin’s own life. Kate Chopin was originally a traditional housewife having had six kids. Kate Chopin’s husband’s early death ultimately helped launch Kate’s career as an artist. After Kate Chopin lost her husband and her mother, a family friend suggested that she take up writing therapeutically. This started Kate’s career as a writer. Kate was able to experience personal success outside of her role as a housewife through her writing career. This type of freedom that Kate Chopin experienced after losing her husband is similar to what Mrs. Mallard envisions that she will experience in “The Story of An Hour.” The opportunities for women outside of repressive 19th century marriages is a theme which is expressed in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” and a theme in Kate Chopin’s own life. The protagonist, Mrs. Louse Mallard feels repressed in her role in life during her marriage. Upon hearing that her husband died, Mrs. Mallard envisions a bright future where she can be self-assertive. The author Kate Chopin may have been using her own life experiences as an inspiration for the writing of “The Story of An Hour.” The theme of individuality for women outside of their tradition roles is part of what makes “The Story of An Hour” an essential work of feminist literature.
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.
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
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.
Marriage can be seen as a subtle form of oppression, like many things which are dictated by social expectations. In Kate Chopin’s The Story of An Hour, Louise Mallard finds herself in distress due to the event of her husband’s death that makes her question who she is as a person. The author cleverly uses this event to create the right atmosphere for Mrs. Mallard to fight against her own mind. As the short story progresses, we see that Mrs. Mallard moves forward with her new life and finds peace in her decision to live for herself. This shows that marriage too is another chain that holds oneself back. Not wanting to admit this to herself, Louise
These two stories both only a few pages long, describe an extremely important theme within many of Kate Chopin’s writings. “The Storm,” and “The Story of an Hour,” focus on women’s revolt against conformity and the norms of their title. Kate shows how her woman can take their gender confining roles and flip them around to live in peace and freedom. The stories both coincide with the central impression of women challenging and altering their lives from a set view, either ending up with a death or ending with a secret affair. All of the women in Chopin’s stories wanted something to happen to change their lives. They found that change through by being unorthodox, by fighting the flow, and by differing from the mold.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, it talks about marriage and a woman’s life in the 1800’s. This story illustrates the stifling nature of a woman’s role during this time through Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death. When Mrs. Mallard obtains news that her husband is dead, she is hurt after a brief moment and then she is delighted with the thought of freedom. This story shows how life was in the mid 1800’s and how women were treated around that time.
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).
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.
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
Marriage is a sacred, long-standing institution. However, there are times in which the relationship between a wife and her spouse is merely a master-and-slave one. Not until the 1960s did women begin to speak up their voice and require their right of freedom. In her influential work of feminism "The Story of An Hour," Kate Chopin reflects the gloomy marital status of the women in the early 1900s through the life of the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard.
Some authors put in words their life experiences that empower them to do their works a mix of emotions capable of touching readers’ hearts, lives, and societies. Kate Chopin’s stories are examples of personal and family situations that affected her drastically, and those hard situations are the inspiration of her works and the reasons of being against chauvinist which marked and distinguished that century. She grew up in a particular family ruled by women in the nineteenth century, and it was the base of her strong feminist thoughts and her disagreement towards societal rules which was illustrated in “The Story of an Hour”
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
In the late nineteenth century, women were perceived as weak and were often mistreated by their husbands. Men were seen as more superior to women. They were expected to obey their husband, they were trapped inside their husbands bubble. The inspiring stories, “The Story of an Hour”, “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, and “Desiree’s Baby” all implement Kate Chopin’s view of women in society. Throughout the short stories, Mrs. Mallard, Mrs. Sommers and Desiree all portrayed how women were dominated by their husband.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is specifically suited for a Feminist criticism because Mrs. Mallard’s problem highlights the disparity in how the women are written and how they are treated in opposition to their male counterparts, revealing a decided diversity between genders. It shows the cultural norms within a patriarchal society are based on biological happenstance instead of intellectual capacity. The way Mrs. Mallard and her supporters behave and how they are depicted demonstrates the diversity and cultural competence outcome which promotes the need for fair and inclusive interactions.
Forbidden Joy: Women’s Struggle for Independence in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” First-wave Feminism was a popular idea that emerged throughout the nineteenth century, as a wide range of movements by women were established to reach a common goal of equality, politically, economically, personally, and socially. In the United States, the earliest form of activism was focused on the promotion of equally agreed marriages and property rights for women. A feminist theory emerged which attempted to understand the nature of gender inequality by examining the social roles of women. During this time, writing was used as a popular way to express one’s thoughts and feelings about social culture and lifestyles.