Professor Stephanie Hollenbeck
English 1102
08 November 2015
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
At the beginning of “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard is met with the devastating news that her husband has been tragically killed in a railroading disaster. Her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend, Richards, take great care in delivering the news, since Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition. As soon as she receives the news, she is immediately overcome with grief and soon leaves the company of her sister to reflect on her thoughts alone. She stares out the window reflecting on the activities taking place outside on a dreary day. She feels physically exhausted by the emotional burden that was placed upon her just moments before. The theme
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Mallard very long to figure out what the death of her husband would mean for her future. Her husband’s death ends her period of denial, and sparks a quest for identity. She is finally free, and her life will surely have meaning from that point on. “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" (“Chopin”). She knew that she would still grieve the passing of her husband, but much like looking far into the distance at the patches of blue sky on that rainy day; she was looking out, years into the future, at what her life of freedom and happiness would look like. She is finally free to live as she sees fit and completely ecstatic that she will no longer be a “creature” that her husband can control. "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering” …show more content…
Mallard continues to envision a life of freedom when her sister begs to be let into the room with her. Her sister, no doubt, suspects that Mrs. Mallard is going to make herself physically ill because of her grief, which is not the case at all. "Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window” (“Chopin”). Mrs. Mallard is reflecting on the days that she will be experiencing and enjoying alone. “Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long” (“Chopin”). She alludes, yet again, to the fact that her marriage had her trapped in nothing short of a nightmare, and expresses the joy and excitement that awaits her on her quest for her new
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.
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...
As the title puts it, “The Story of an Hour” takes place in the span of an hour. The title of the story also shows the possibility of occurrences within a single hour. This story is mostly centered around one woman, Louis Mallard. In conventional circumstances, death brings sorrow, grief, seclusion, guilt, regrets, along with other feeling depending on the cause of death. In “The Story of an Hour”, sorrow and grief are a product of the recent happenings, however, these feelings are coupled with joy and independence. Kate Chopin uses this story to convey death as a joyful circumstance whereas conventionally it is portrayed as sorrowful.
To start off, this short story is packed with an abundance of symbolism that further highlights the emotions that Mrs. Mallard was feeling after hearing the devastating news of her husband’s death. Although she is instantly overcome with grief upon hearing the news, there were ‘’patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds…” (Chopin 476). These patches of blue sky represent the plethora of opportunities that await Mrs. Mallard now that she has been given a fresh start, with total and unrestricted freedom. Shortly after, Louise begins to comprehend how her husband’s death has in turn completely changed her life for the better. In addition, Mrs. Mallard’s heart troubles also bear a symbolic significance. Her physical heart complications symbolize her discontent with her lack of freedom in her life and marriage. In contrast, when Mrs. Mallard initially realizes the liberty and independence that she now possesses, “her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood w...
Mallard was forced to face emotional barriers and conflicts when she was advised of her husband’s death. “She wept at once, with sudden abandonment” (Chopin, par. 3 1984) Mrs. Mallard cried because she loved her husband, but at the same time, Mr. Mallard’s death would mean freedom and independence for Mrs. Mallard. Widows regained “legal recognition and control over their own lives.” (President, & Harvard, F. 2010) Mrs. Mallard’s weeping shows the conflict between grief and happiness. Emotions eventually turn into thoughts and revolution; she begins envisioning the prospects of the path her life could take. When Mrs. Mallard runs upstairs she faces “the open window…” (Chopin, par. 4 1984) and sits in the armchair feeling her bodies exhaustion “that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” (Chopin, par. 4 1984) This is the moment Mrs. Mallard feels released from her oppression and the feeling of freedom begins. The open window and blue sky symbolizes a new life; she begins feeling life is worth living. Mrs. Mallard once hoped life would be short but now prays for a long life. She smells the fresh air and the song of the sparrows. The sparrow is a symbol of self-worth and passion for ourselves that is within our hearts, just waiting to be awoken. The clearing sky symbolizing how the clouds in her own life and marriage were now cleared away, the rain cleansing her soul that was oppressed by her marriage. She was “Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin, para. 14
Mrs Mallard, much like Frank Hurley, became aware of the endless possibilities her life could offer following her sudden and eye opening discovery. The realisation of her husbands supposed death inspires the repetition “Free, free, free!” outlining the embracing of her new found freedom as a means of breaking the shackles of her old married life, and plunging into her new life free of the “blind persistence”. Furthermore, the imagery of the open window, “she could see in the open square…all aquiver with new spring life” also symbolises her newfound individuality but more so emphasises the reclamation of her individuality and a new life that solely belongs to her, which stood as a revolutionary concept related to the context of the story as the ninetieth century was an era that limited the progress of women. This imagery also acts as a means of the protagonist escaping the one dimensional “square” of her marriage and truly experiencing all life has to offer for the first time, consequently demonstrating the ways in which discoveries transform and encourage individuals to acquire a new outlook on
Mallard comes to the realization herself that life would be more pleasant now that she is a widowed individual. She may now “live for herself” rather than a falsified housewife (Chopin 124). Imagery once again proves helpful in interpreting Chopin’s theme. Just as when she was crying wildly, Mrs. Mallard’s “bosom [rises] and [falls] tumultuously” as she begins to realize the magnitude of her situation (Chopin 124). Societal code tells her that she should not take joy in the death of her husband, but she cannot hold it back any longer. Chopin compares Mrs. Mallard’s lack of command of her own emotions to the absence of control she has over her actions and body by stating that she was “as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been” (Chopin 124). This simile represents the accepted male versus female roles in society: males have authority and power while women must follow their
Mrs. Mallard’s emotions are what kept me on my toes while reading the story, especially the plot twist. The plot in “The Story of an Hour” was a series of Mrs.
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
She could now “live for herself” (Chopin16) and not be confined to her home and controlled by her husband no matter if the intention were kind or cruel. Finally, Mrs. Mallard would be free to make her own decisions and the thought of that was a pure excitement for
Mallard is initially informed of her husband’s death, she is filled with grief, unlike the other wives and mothers who struggle to accept the reality of their losses (Chopin 3). When Mrs. Mallards tears seized and her grief had passed, she only wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt her sadness turning into something else, something she could not yet recognize. Until it hit her, she no longer felt sadness for her loss, she felt free. Her new-found feeling of freedom is proved when the narrator says, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips.
Mallard. Her self-assertion surpassed the years they were married and the love she had for him. She is beginning to realize she can now live for and focus on herself. The text insists “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.” (Chopin 477.) Finally she can live freely and no longer worry about being confined in her marriage and inside her own home. She has come to realization that she is now independent and can think freely and achieves happiness and freedom. She is no longer held down or back by her marriage. She will no longer be someone’s possession she will be free and respected. Her husband Brently returns and he is alive the happiness and freedom she once possessed briefly with the mere image of her deceased husband were quickly torn away. “When the doctors came they said she died of heart disease of joy that kills” (Chopin 477). She was free but still confined without the knowledge of her husband who wasn’t dead. Chopin illustrates at the end that she was free because joy killed her. She was joyous because she was finally set free but she is now once again confined by the grief knowing her husband was not killed
Countless varieties of internal conflict substantiate Mrs. Mallard to fight back the joy of freedom following her husband’s death. “She was striving to beat it back with her will” (Chopin 762) reflects how Mrs. Mallard would sense any indication between empathetic views of herself towards restraining freedom taking over her. Although struggles with desire connecting authority over her relief, she realizes she should not sense relief over her husband’s death and attempts to transition from that experience. By the same token, she appears vulnerable abandoning freedom because this influences social expectations. Even if Mrs. Mallard’s freedom did not portray a part of society, she would reject preparation to emulate through offering it. As
The nineteenth century was a period in which marriage was viewed differently from the way it’s viewed today. Women didn’t have the same rights they have now, in fact they didn’t have any rights. Staying home and tending to the house, while the husbands went out and worked was a woman’s job. This period was filled with men whom held a sort of dominance over women which in turn prevented women from satisfying their own desires and ending up unhappy. In Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” she uses irony and symbolism to show how an unwanted marriage can deprive a woman of her happiness and independence during the nineteenth century. Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” put me in mind of an author named Charlotte Perkins Gilman and her short story “The Yellow
The first reader has a guided perspective of the text that one would expect from a person who has never studied the short story; however the reader makes some valid points which enhance what is thought to be a guided knowledge of the text. The author describes Mrs. Mallard as a woman who seems to be the "victim" of an overbearing but occasionally loving husband. Being told of her husband's death, "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance." (This shows that she is not totally locked into marriage as most women in her time). Although "she had loved him--sometimes," she automatically does not want to accept, blindly, the situation of being controlled by her husband. The reader identified Mrs. Mallard as not being a "one-dimensional, clone-like woman having a predictable, adequate emotional response for every life condition." In fact the reader believed that Mrs. Mallard had the exact opposite response to the death her husband because finally, she recognizes the freedom she has desired for a long time and it overcomes her sorrow. "Free! Body and soul free! She kept whispering." We can see that the reader got this idea form this particular phrase in the story because it illuminates the idea of her sorrow tuning to happiness.