The story of an hour
"The story of an hour" has many themes, but mostly shows one main theme, which is dysfunctional marriage. Women in the 19th century were prisoners of their husbands. Life was male dominated. Women were expected to stay at home to cook and raise the children. Not many women had jobs at that time, and even the ones who did, they were paid salaries less than men were.
This short story is about the main character Mrs. Mallard who has a heart problem, who got the bad news from her sister Josephine of her husband 's death in a railroad disaster. Her husband 's friend Richard was also with them. They brought her the news gently because they were concerned it might put her in danger because of her heart problem. Mrs. Mallard started crying at once, went upstairs, and locked her self in her room. Ironically, she started feeling happy and free. She felt free from the depressing life she was living, she didn 't have to live for anyone else but herself now. As Josephine when up to her and took her downstairs, the door was opened and surprisingly Mr. Mallard stood there. He was far away from the accident and did not know anything about it. Richard tried to hide the scene of Mrs. Mallard. When the doctors arrived they said that she had died of her heart disease, from the "joy that kills".
The title of the story is referred to that everything happened within only one hour, she felt happy and free, thought of the life ahead of her, and died all in an hour.
I enjoyed reading the short story, it keeps the reader wanting to know what will happen next. Through it I, and through analyzing the story and the setting, I learned how women lived in the 19th century, where they were not given all their rights and were prisoners of their husbands. Where today women have many options, they have their rights and the opportunities in many fields, and can even be more successful than men
When I first saw this title, I thought that it was simply just about a person who had experienced a very eventful hour. Although this title is very simple, it does not predict what is going to happen or have any clues or a double meaning, which I think is really cool. After reading this short story, it is exactly what I thought it was. It was a lady, Mrs. Louise Mallard, who had the most eventful hour of any one's life. From the beginning, Mrs. Mallard is sitting in her living room when her sister, Josephine comes in and tells her the horrible news of her husband's death.
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.
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.
Every part of each lead character’s personality and physicality are different, yet the two authors, almost a generation apart in age, wrote showing these characters facing a similar fight against a woman’s place in society. The narrator describes Louise Mallard in paragraph eight physically, as "young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength" (Chopin 169). This depiction has an underlining meaning as repression bounded by society. This bias among men and women has tailored its restraints within her and has given her a stronger look. “The Story of an Hour” was written when women could not yet vote in the United States. The best status for her might have been to be married at that time. Steinbeck descripts Elisa Allen in pa...
During the time of its publication “The Story of an Hour” was not received with open arms. In fact, the topic itself was strange to many as it spoke of “a woman rejoicing in the death of her husband” (Hicks). And it
It is about a young married woman, Louise Mallard, who has a heart condition and a shock can kill her immediately. Her sister, Josephine, was careful not to upset Louise when her husband, Brently Mallard, died in a train accident. Louise cried and went to her room. However, Louise felt happy, even though the situation was tragic. In addition, she realized that she gained freedom from a depressing marriage and from her dominating husband.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
...t the end of the story shows that liberation of women in a society ruled by a patriarchal mindset is doomed to fail (Wan 169). According to Wan, the story of an hour is a true depiction of representation of women in the nineteenth century when movements against oppression of women began to emerge (170). Although the outcomes were not as tragic as depicted in the story, it was obviously a journey filled with many challenges, and the fact that a viable resolve is yet to be achieved to date shows the issue of gender equality is grim.
Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" demonstrates the highly typical gender roles that could be found in a late 1800's scene as it shows even if the marriage is kind, it could be inherently oppressive. This is clearly shown through the relationship of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, as when news hits Louise Mallard that her husband has passed on, a large wave of grief washes over her; however, it passes when she realizes that she will be able to bite into the forbidden fruit of freedom. According to Louise, this freedom would mean "there would be no one to live for her 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-crea...
In Kate Chopin’s short story, a woman named Louise Mallard suffered of a heart disease. When her sister Josephine reveals to Louise about her husband’s tragic train accident, causing his death, her reaction was bizarre. After she is notified about her husband’s decease, she goes upstairs and locks herself in her room. She sits on her armchair, looks out her window, and fantasizes about what her life will be like without her husband, Mr. Mallard. Shortly after, Josephine comes for her, thinking Louise will get ill about the news and they both walk down the stairs. To Mrs. Mallard’s dismay, the door flings open: Mr. Mallard was alive! Mrs. Mallard was in shock but mostly disappointed, for the future she dreamed of without her husband was ruined, and dies. According to the doctor she had died of the joy that kills. There is no doubt that Kate Chopin included an abundant of symbolic and ironic references in her short story “The Story of an Hour.”
The “Joy that Kills” ends this dynamic short story, as well as Louise Mallard’s life. As the audience reads about Mrs. Mallard’s epiphany, it is likely they experience realizations of their own. Works Cited for: Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Backpack Literature.
Unfortunately, her hope for long years and many beautiful spring days was abruptly ended in an ironic twist. Unbeknownst to herself and her company, Mr. Mallard had survived, and within an hour the promises of a bright future for Mrs. Mallard had both began and came to an end. Her grievous death was misconstrued as joy to the others: "they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills" (Chopin 471). This statement embodies the distorted misconception that a woman lives only for her man. The audience, in fact, sees just the opposite. To Louise her life was elongated at the news of her husband's death, not cut short. Throughout the story, one hopes Louise will gain her freedom. Ironically, she is granted freedom, but only in death.
The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting her husband’s sudden return, she regretted abandoning her moment of freedom. An analysis of “The Story of an Hour” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about women’s self-identity in the 1800s male-dominated society, and how it caused women’s lack of freedom. During the 1800s, males dominated and were the superior gender in the society. The. Women’s rights and feminism do not exist.
The main character in this story, Louise Mallard shows us her dream of freedom and proves these people wrong when her husband, Brently Mallard, dies. Louise’s husband was on a list of people that died in a railroad disaster. They tell her carefully since she has a heart condition. She starts crying, but afterwards she begins to think of all the positive things that come from his death. Her sister, Josephine goes upstairs to make sure she is okay,and once she finds out she is they come down. As they walk down the stairs she sees the door being opened and her husband comes in. Having her heart condition, she dies. The doctors thought “she had died from heart disease-of joy that kills.” However, she didn't die from the joy of getting to see her living husband but from losing her future filled with freedom.
“The Story of an Hour” expresses the difficulties of being a women in the late 1800’s in South America due to the issues of gender inequalities. This story, written by Kate Chopin, who was a married woman in late 1800’s, provides the perspective of a young married women who has limited freedom and is largely controlled by her husband. Throughout this story gender norms are clearly displayed in different ways. One clear example is when Mrs. Mallard, the protagonist, is expected to act a specific way when she hears the news of her dead husband, yet she feels the extreme opposite. The narrator then does a great job of expressing the reality of how Mrs. Mallard is truly feeling and uses that as a way to express the control as a conflict. The outcome