Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Women's rights in ancient civilizations
Women's rights in ancient civilizations
Women's rights in ancient civilizations
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Rough Draft
The Story of an Hour is a short story of Ms. Mallard, a woman with a heart condition who receives short term good news. Chopin uses contrast between independence, marriage, and gender to show how hidden emotions can effect a woman’s actions in the time period where women did not have much power or right to speak what came to their mind. Chopin uses contrast between independence between men and women. Ms. Mallard’s sentences on p. 57 “Free, free, free!” and on p.58 “Free! Body and soul free!” it can be indicated that she did not have much independence and had a taste of freedom. The way she had an excited tone when saying those sentences, shows she stayed in one place, being home and depended on her husband. On p. 57 both sentences
Mrs. Mallard, in “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin, exhibits a healthy need of inquiry when presented with the monumental news of her husband’s passing. Separating herself from others, she seeks out a safe and comfortable space that will allow her to fully express her emotions and to logically evaluate her options. Once she came to the conclusion of being elated, she set her mind and heart into that reality. This dedication is only good if not contrasting information is given.
Mrs. Mallard’s sullen, yearning physical description depicts her prior lack of freedom, as it contrasts with the unfamiliar, alluring scenery and images that she experiences after her husband’s supposed death. Mrs. Mallard, although young, is depicted as a woman “whose lines bespoke repression” (Chopin). It is
Mrs. Mallard is the example of a typical housewife of the mid 1800’s. At the time, most women were not allowed to go to school and were usually anticipated to marry and do housework. During that time, the only way women could get out of a marriage was if they were to die or their husbands was to die. In that time period, the husband had control of all of the money, so it would not be wise if the wife were to leave the financial freedom that was provided by the husband. This is most likely why Mrs. Mallard never leaves her husband’s death, she is sad at first but then experiences an overwhelming sense of joy. This shows that she is not in a fulfilling marriage as his death means she will finally have own individual freedom, as well as financial freedom being the grieving widow who will inherit her husband’s wealth. In the words of Lawrence I. Berkove he states, “On the other hand, Chopin did not regard marriage as a state of pure and unbroken bliss, but on the other, she could not intelligently believe that it was desirable, healthy, or even possible for anyone to live as Louise, in the grip of her feverish delusion, wishes: to be absolutely free and to live totally and solely for oneself.” (3) Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death is Chopin’s way of expressin...
Chopin depicts marriage as a prison institution that confines women for life. In the story there is no possibility for divorce and death seems to be the only way out. Evidently, since marriage is dictated by society, women do not seem bothered by their lack of freedom since they feel it is their obligation to run homes without complaining. From the story, Mrs. Mallard does not seem perturbed by her present situation until gets a taste of freedom after receiving the news about her husband death. Precisely, we are told that;
Chopin displays a need for more independent women in this piece, suggesting that wronged womanhood is the simple fact that society didn’t allow them to be on the same level with men. Mrs. Mallard realizes a “possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being.” This suggests a dying will for independence. Mrs. Mallard realizes that she can now rely upon her self for everything and it will become her number one driving factor in life. After she realizes this, Chopin says Mrs. Mallard thinks “spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own.” When she has days to herself, she will have no one to tell her what to do, as this line suggests her husband used to.
“There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is the story of a woman’s reaction to the news of her husband’s passing. Mrs. Louise Mallard is a young woman most would conclude to be saddened by the passing of her husband. Yet it is in that very moment we find her true feelings.
Written by Kate Chopin, the short story “The Story of an Hour” follows Louise Mallard, a woman from the nineteenth century who has just received the news that her husband, Brently Mallard, has passed away in a horrific train accident. Immediately Mrs. Mallard is overcome with grief and sorrow, but her mood quickly shifts when she realizes the independence and free-will she will now have. At the climax of her elation for the future, her husband walks through the door. Mrs. Mallard, shocked and speechless, dies of a heart attack. In the short story, "The Story of an Hour," author Kate Chopin utilizes symbolism, diction, and irony to emphasize the effects of Mrs. Mallard's newfound sense of freedom, and how that ultimately results in her death.
'The Story of an Hour' is one of Kate Chopin's most famous short stories. There is a great deal of marital instability in the story by Chopin because most of her well-known stories and novels deal with a woman who wishes for freedom or a marriage that is out of balance. In 'The Story of an Hour,' Chopin deals with an ironical twist; it is that the wife in the story, Louise Mallard, does not realize she is displeased with her marriage until she is told that her husband has been killed in a train accident. For an hour, Louise believes her husband's death and sets about planning her future in her mind; when she discovers the rumor of his death is not true, she dies of a heart problem at the end. The common argument in the story is that whether Louise dies of happiness or sadness about her husband's news. There are many ironies, echoes and foreshadowing occur throughout the story such as weeping, celebrating and dying. The theme appears one way, but in actuality, it means another way. Kate Chopin uses Louise Mallard to reflect events and feelings in her own personal life in 'The Story of an Hour.'
“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” (Chopin 278). This is the first sentence in Kate Chopin’ s “The Story of an Hour” gives reader a background setting that develops the protagonist-Mrs. Mallard and leads reader to think how does this beginning relate to the theme of the story. The heart trouble may represent the reflection of Mrs. Mallard, symbolized trapped, just like her life is trapped from freedom and full of sickness. The beginning of the story, beside letting the reader knows Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble, moreover, it also brings out a huge turning point to her life from her husband’s death. These two important elements
Written in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” is a story of a woman who, through the erroneously reported death of her husband, experienced true freedom. Both tragic and ironic, the story deals with the boundaries imposed on women by society in the nineteenth century. The author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had first-hand experience with the male-dominated society of that time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age (Internet). The similarity between Kate Chopin and her heroine can only leave us to wonder how much of this story is fiction and how much is personal experience.
“The Story of an Hour” is a tragic tale of loss, the loss of a loved one and the loss of freedom which is a key point in this story. Kate Chopin weaves an intricate tale and uses a view point that most people do not when their husband is perceived dead. The thoughts of the freedom that our main character Mrs. Mallard feels as she learns the tragic news is definitely not the emotion that would be expected but for her it truly is release. The story and Kate Chopin’s views on the world all surround the tragedy that she experienced in her own life which has led to countless short stories and books that to this day are widely respected and read.
Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" appears merely to explore a woman's unpredictable reaction to her husband's assumed death and reappearance, but actually Chopin offers Mrs. Mallard's bizarre story to reveal problems that are inherent in the institution of marriage. By offering this depiction of a marriage that stifles the woman to the point that she celebrates the death of her kind and loving husband. Chopin challenges her readers to examine their own views of marriage and relationships between men and women. Each reader's judgment of Mrs. Mallard and her behavior inevitably stems from his or her own personal feelings about marriage and the influences of societal expectations. Readers of differing genders, ages, and marital experiences are, therefore, likely to react differently to Chopin's startling portrayal of the Mallards' marriage, and that certainly is true of my response to the story compared to my father's and grandmother's responses.
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.”
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.
In the “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin she expresses a hidden resentment toward men and the way the world looks down upon women. This interesting poem talk about martial relationship between couples. In Kate Chopin’s "The Story of an Hour", the main character, Mrs. Mallard, is a married woman with a heart condition. Her husband Mr.Mallard was away and news comes that he has involved in a horrific train accident. Her sister gently and silently breaks the news to her. According to poem it is obvious when Mrs. Mallard found out about her husbands death then rejoiced that she was free, It turns out that she is not happily married and marriage that was possibly not even her choice.The thought of freedom