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Story of an hour theme analysis
The role of women in 20th century novels
Story of an hour analysis
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This story takes place around 1900's when being a women means having no rights. Women in this time period have struggled to be relieved from their everyday household duties. Throughout history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. “The Story of an Hour,” depicts how the laws of society differ from the 1900's till now and how the author views society's rules and how Louise strives for independence. Throughout different time periods individuals change their point-of-view by the change of society's laws. The status of women in the 19th century till now is a drastic change. Unlike today where most can get a divorce whenever, marriage was an inseparable bond that was considered offensive if it was ever broken. Once married the man controlled the household and what goes on in it. In “The Story of an Hour” it displays how the man runs everything, the author illustrates this by stating "Women were expected to be supported by their husband" (Chopin 784). Today's society gives women equal rights which make them …show more content…
In "The Story of an Hour," being Independent is a forbidden pleasure that can only be thought about through the privacy of our minds. This can be shown in "The Story of an Hour," the narrator claims "She was beginning to recognize this that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will" (Chopin 786). She resists to believe she is joyed by her husband's death so she can receive a new freedom. Furthermore, she is delighted with this change because it gives her the scrupulousness of being welcomed into the free world. Louise’s life offers no shelter for this kind of delight, but the rest of civilization will never receive this kind of joy. This can be understood when the writer states “This possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” (Chopin
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers and nurturers of the children. Only recently with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. Two interesting short stories, “The Yellow Wall-paper and “The Story of an Hour, “ focus on a woman’s plight near the turn of the 19th century. This era is especially interesting because it is a time in modern society when women were still treated as second class citizens. The two main characters in these stories show similarities, but they are also remarkably different in the ways they deal with their problems and life in general. These two characters will be examined to note the commonalities and differences. Although the two characters are similar in some ways, it will be shown that the woman in the “The Story of an Hour” is a stronger character based on the two important criteria of rationality and freedom.
Throughout history, women have had to continuously fight for their rights and equality in society. Women have fought to separate themselves from their controlling husbands, fought to become independently accepted and have fought to create their own destiny. Within their short stories, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin address this search for freedom and independence. Chopin’s publication of “The Story of an Hour” in 1894 was not far behind Gilman’s publication of “The Yellow Wallpaper” in 1892. During this time period, women were starting to fight for more social rights and social equality. Both stories analyze the social standards of this time and the oppression of women by men.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of the Hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” are viewed from a woman’s perspective in the nineteenth century. They show the issues on how they are confined to the house. That they are to be stay at home wives and let the husband earn the household income. These stories are both written by American women and how their marriage was brought about. Their husbands were very controlling and treated them more like children instead of their wives. In the nineteenth century their behavior was considered normal at the time. In “The Story of the Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” both women explore their issues on wanting to be free from the control of their husband’s.
In Western culture, it is understood that marriage is based on an equal partnership and not one person controlling the other. On the contrary, in the early 19th century, women were usually in unions that were male dominated. Women were meant to be seen and not heard. Likewise, in the short story, “The Story of an Hour” and the play “Trifles”, two women from very different circumstances share the same fate of being dominated by their husbands and lose their identity while married.
In conclusion, “The story of an hour” is a clear depiction that women status in the society determines the choices they make about their lives. In this work, Chopin depicts a woman as a lesser being without identity or voices of their own. They are expected to remain in oppressive marriages and submit to their husbands without question.
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.
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” By Michel de Montaigne. This quote explains the idea of belonging to oneself and no one else. This is the same as being independent. Just like in the fictional short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (1894). Within the time span of one hour, Louise Mallard changes drastically. Louise is afflicted with heart trouble and had to be told gently about dreadful news. Mrs. Mallard is informed that her husband died. As soon as she heard this information, Louise began to grieve. However, this did not last very long. Mrs. Mallard the locked herself in her room and faced an open window. Staring out the window made her think further more about the situation she was currently
Kate Chopin was a Victorian writer; whose writing manifests her life experiences. She was not happy with the principles of the time, because women had fewer rights, and they were not considered equal to men. Afraid of segregation from society, people lived in a hypocritical world full of lies; moreover, Kate Chopin was not afraid of segregation, and used her writing as a weapon against oppression of the soul. Marriage was an oppressor to Chopin, she had been a victim of this institution. Being a victim of marriage, Chopin's "Story of an Hour," is an expression of her believe that, marriage is an institution that oppresses, represses, and is a source of discontent among human beings.
In Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" the author portrays patriarchal oppression in the institution of marriage by telling the story of one fateful hour in the life of a married woman. Analyzing the work through feminist criticism, one can see the implications of masculine discourse.
For women, the 19th century was a time of inequality, oppression, and inferiority to their male counterparts. A woman's social standing depended solely on her marital status. For these reasons many women were forced to lead a life of solitude and emotional inadequacy, often causing depression. In Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," setting plays a significant role in illustrating the bittersweet triumph of Mrs. Mallard's escape from oppression at the ironic cost of her life.
First, through Chopin’s choice of diction, she creates empathy, which helps develop the theme. In the story, Chopin writes, “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
The apparent use of irony in Chopin’s story presents the idea of whether freedom does in fact result in the state of felicity. At first her ideas of freedom are sorrowful and her heart is broken because of the distraught news. Though the inexplicable feelings of freedom soon exhume her body and the future is now the focus of her mind. Ironically, her new found freedom is what soon leads to her devastating loss of life.
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
“There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.