In certain writings, characters are explored with precision, just like Louise was in The Story Of An Hour, by Kate Chopin, yet there is still room for the reader to say why that certain character was the way they were. Some character are not as thoroughly described as others, just like Brently, Louise’s husband. With all that has been said about Louise and her cries of freedom, readers can interpret why she had never felt free as she did on that day. For Brently, much can be imagined by the reader about why in his care, his wife still felt in captivity and needed to pray about having a short life. Louise was portrayed by Chopin as a woman is deep suffering from her marriage. Although this was not openly stated, we realize this because of her lack of optimism toward her married life. She was praying for her life to be a short one. She reached such a point that she welcomed death with an open heart. As soon as she found out her husband had perished, she weeped for a moment because of the shock, but then felt relieved and as she stated herself, "Free! Body and soul free!" (Chopin 2). This was in response to realizing that she had been freed from her marriage …show more content…
Louise in The Story Of An Hour by Kate Chopin was discussed in depth, but was never really openly stating why she was unhappy or what caused her marriage to be such a burden for her. With the information provided on her in the reading, one can say that it is the feeling of captivity that cause her to be so miserable she wanted to die. For Brently, her husband, not much is said about him other than the fact that he was kind and loving, which leaves the reader assuming that it was the roles society attributed to men and women at the time that caused him to behave the way he did causing Louise to be so unhappy to be in that
“Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin unveils a widow named Mrs. Louise Mallard in which gets the news of her husband’s death yet, the audience would think she would feel sorrowful, depressed, and dispirited in the outcome her reaction is totally unusual. Meanwhile, day after day as time has gone by Mrs. Mallard slowly comes to a strange realization which alters a new outlook over her husband's death. "And yet she had loved him- sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!" (Chopin, 2). The actuality that she finds a slight bit of happiness upon the death of a person who particularly is so close to her is completely unraveling w...
In The Story of an Hour, the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, is a young woman with a heart condition who learns of her husband’s untimely death in a railroad disaster. Instinctively weeping as any woman is expected to do upon learning of her husband’s death, she retires to her room to be left alone so she may collect her thoughts. However, the thoughts she collects are somewhat unexpected. Louise is conflicted with the feelings and emotions that are “approaching to possess her...” (Chopin 338). Unexpectedly, joy and happiness consume her with the epiphany she is “free, free, free!” (Chopin 338). Louise becomes more alive with the realization she will no longer be oppressed by the marriage as many women of her day were, and hopes for a long life when only the day prior, “…she had thought with a shudder that life may ...
Her mood is vitally important in evaluating her death. We are told that during her thoughtful night, she came to realize that there was, “no one thing in the world that she desired,” (p 108) and that eventually she would be alone. She then remembers her children, but not fondly. They are “antagonists who overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul’s slavery for the rest of her days.” (Chopin 108) Her children are a burden, not a joy, for they anchor her to “soul’s slavery.” “But she knew of a way to elude them.” (Chopin 108) She knew of a way to elude her children? Certainly there are other possibilities than suicide, but coupled with the oth...
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.
Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, is about a woman, named Louise Mallard, in the late 1800s who is told that her husband, Brently, has died in a railroad accident. Initially, Louise is surprised, distressed, and drowned in sorrow. After mourning the loss, the woman realizes that she is finally free and independent, and that the only person she has to live for is herself. She becomes overwhelmed with joy about her new discovery of freedom, and dreams of all of the wonderful events in life that lie ahead of her. Louise’s sister finally convinces her to leave her room and come back into reality. While Louise is walking down her steps, her husband surprisingly enters through the door because he was actually not killed in the accident. At the same moment, Louise collapses and dies, supposedly from “heart disease-of joy that kills” (Chopin 706).
Marriage oppressed her, she needed freedom, freedom to grow and do what she wanted to do, and marriage took that away from here. Chopin didn't believe that one person should take away another's freedom.
In her story “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin (1894) uses imagery and descriptive detail to contrast the rich possibilities for which Mrs. Mallard yearns, given the drab reality of her everyday life. Chopin utilizes explicit words to provide the reader a background on Mrs. Mallard’s position. Chopin uses “She wept at once,” to describe Mrs. Mallard’s emotional reaction once she was told her husband had been “Killed.” Mrs. Mallard cared for and loved her husband; being married was the only way of life that she knew.
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin represents a negative view of marriage by presenting the reader with a woman who is clearly overjoyed that her husband has died. This is expressed through the language in “The Story of an Hour” (click for full plot summary) by Kate Chopin used to describe Louise’s emotions as she oscillates between numbness and extreme joy at her newfound freedom. The narrator of “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin relates what she observes in simple prose, but when her emotions are described, the words are vibrant and powerful. This suggests that Louis has a deep inner-life that is not connected to the outside world of her husband or friends and the fact that she cloisters herself in her room to discover her feelings
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” focuses on a woman named Louise Mallard and her reaction to finding out about her husband’s death. The descriptions that the author uses in the story have significance in the plot because they foreshadow the ending.
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.
Kate Chopin's story, "The Story of an Hour", focuses on an 1890's young woman, Louise Mallard. She experienced a profound emotional change after she hears her husband's "death" and her life ends with her tragic discovery that he is actually alive. In this story, the author uses various techniques-settings, symbolism and irony- to demonstrate and develop the theme: Freedom is more important than love.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” grabs its readers from the start and creates an unexpected twist at the end of the short story. Louise Mallard is given the news that her husband has died in a terrible train accident. To her surprise, he arrives home and “did not even know there had been one” (Chopin, 607). Upon the death of Louise who once believes she was a widow only to find that her husband is still alive, the confusion begins. The death of Louise is questioned by many critics as a state of shock, depression, and sadness. However, Mark Cunningham’s criticism of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” states that her death was instead a discovery of freedom from the physical strains of her marriage with her husband and societal views on women. Cunningham argues that at the sight of her living husband, “Louise’s death lies elsewhere: in the joy” (Cunningham, 49), that she had finally escaped her marriage and the burdens it placed on her life. Cunningham also states that it’s possible that Louise didn’t actually even see her husband but that it doesn’t necessarily matter. Lastly, Cunningham argues that not only does she escape the strains of the marriage, but Louise also escapes society’s natural and degrading views on women and the place they hold in society. In best judgment, Cunningham does an exquisite job at defining the meaning of the significance of Louise’s death. However, I will argue that Louise Mallard’s sight of her husband is important to study because it emphasizes her desperate escape from her physically dangerous marriage, which also needs to be considered. I think emphasis should be placed on the idea of symbolism and the role it played in explaining Louise’s freedom from her marriage. It could be beneficial to ...
She has a realization of how beautiful life is without her husband. Then, realizing that her husband is still alive she dies of supposed “joy”. A joy that, according to her doctors, is from seeing her husband alive. Specifically, it makes the irony of the doctor 's statement that Louise dies of "joy that kills" resound in ways that are more complex than the common understanding it grants (Dolan 354). In reality we are lead to believe she dies from horror. This happens because for one hour of her life, Louise does truly feel excited and happy about her future. The feeling of being fully alive broke her heart because she realized that with her husband 's survival, that feeling would come to an end. Chopin clearly shows that it was the realization and horror that she would no longer be free that killed
Not only Louise’s marriage limits her liberty, but also the return of her husband. From the moment that Mr. Mallard walks through the door, readers will agree Louise fails to achieve her freedom because she dies “of joy that kills” (Chopin 525). Here the “joy that kills” Louise can be interpreted in different ways. First, the characters in the story will believe Louise is too delighted to hear her husband is still alive and it is this “joy” that killed her. This interpretation is valid when Chopin depicts Louise as a woman “who had loved him [Mr. Mallard] ̶̶ ̶ ̶ sometimes” (525).
Chopin suggests that all marriages are inherently oppressive and uses Louise as an example. In the story, she admits that her husband was kind and loving, although she feels free when learning of his death. Louise’s thoughts revealed in her mind that lead to her eventual epiphany, reflect on the inherent oppressiveness of all marriages, by which their nature robs people of their independence. When her husband walks in the door, all of Louise’s previous thoughts of her future, self-identity, and independence are suddenly swept from under her. The forbidden joy vanishes just as quickly as it appeared, and the overwhelming sensation is too much for her heart to handle and she dies.