Story Of An Hour Women Oppression

In a country and decade plagued with crime, three women are murdered each day by a current or former partner. Every minute, twenty women are victims of partner violence. And every nine seconds, a woman is beaten. Proving that even in the modern world, women still face discrimination. Although it appears that today the lives of women are oppressive, two centuries ago times were even harder for women. The short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, exhibits the extent to how women felt trapped in marriage. As opposed to becoming a united team as a couple, wives were “owned” by their husbands. In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin uses the short story as propaganda to advocate the end of restrictions that society placed on white middle-class

women. In the mid-19th century, white middle-class women felt oppressed in their marriages due to the loss of their identities and basic rights. Although they could legally get divorced, the negative stigma following divorcees overtook their desire for freedom.

Through the uses of repetition and structural techniques, Kate Chopin is able to depict the degree to how middle-class white women felt trapped by marriage. Shortly after learning of her husband's death, Louise traps herself, alone, in a room. Although it appears she is trying to conceal her grief, she is actually gazing at different forms of life from an open window. She attempts to suppress her thoughts, which she was denied from for so many years, however she cannot hold it in for any longer. “But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching towards her thought the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air...She said it over and over under the breath: “Free, free, free!” (27-31). The story takes place during an hour in Louise Mallard's life, from the moment her husband dies until the moment he suddenly returns alive. There are barely three sentences per paragraph, this heightens the intensity of the hour. The short, intense structure reflects the hour Louise spent contemplating her new independence. The reader is experiencing the hour, the same time Louise is. As Louise speaks “Free, Free, Free”, the reader is left shocked. Louise had appeared to have loved her husband, however the oppression she felt in her marriage overshadowed those feelings. As all the life surrounded her, the sounds, scents and colors she can no longer conceal it. She cannot control her reaction: the joy of no longer being oppressed. Due to the length of the story, Chopin uses repetition to highlight important points. With the repetition of “free”, it becomes clear the story is about a woman becoming free rather than a grieving widow. The words “free” are some of the only words spoken aloud by Louise, and they are repeated five times. The repetition of “free’ and “open” are used to emphasize the new freedom she possesses. This hour of Louise's life, represents the constraints women felt in her era. Louise’s initial reaction to her husband's death, is also an honest one. It is clear she did love her husband and that he was not a physically abusive towards her. However the feeling of being held back by her husband overpowers all love she did feel. Ultimately the use of repetition and structure highlights Louise’s true feelings and heightens the intensity of the moment.

The use of symbolism strengthens the underlying message of oppression in the short story. In Louise’s first few moments alone after being told of her husband’s death, she stares at life through a window. Due to Louise’s “heart disease,” her sister is concerned for her health. “Go away. I am not making myself ill.’ No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window” (Chopin). The window symbolizes the opportunities Louise now has, as she has no one to hold her back. Louise gazes at different forms of life: the blue sky, fluffy cloud, and treetops. The sounds of birds singing and people suggest an optimistic and hopeful tone. The open window indicates a clear, bright view in the distance. Louise ironically loses the view and then her freedom as well when she leaves the open window. After transitioning from grief to relief, Louise is unable to control the adrenaline coursing through her body. “Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (33). The “heart” illness Louise suffers from is physical and mental, and symbolizes her oppression. Her fragile heart proved that it was only weakened by her marriage; and when she gained back her freedom, her heart races, pumping blood through her veins. The doctors claim she died of heart disease. They think she died of overwhelming joy. When in fact, she died of a broken heart; it was over the loss of her short-lived freedom.

White middle-class women in the mid-19th century felt oppressed because their assigned purpose in life was to satisfy their husband and to take care of their house.

For most women, their only way to survive, economically and socially, was to get married. Women who worked in factories made twenty-seven cents to every man's dollar. Therefore, single women could not make a living and needed to get married. Marriage, defined as two becoming one, caused women to lose their identities and to no longer be treated as people. Women could not divorce their husbands, even if the men impoverished, raped or cheated on them; and they were blamed whenever marital dissatisfaction arose. In the Hill’s Manual of Social and Business Forms, published in 1888, it states “Whatever have been the cares of the day, greet your husband with a smile when he returns. Make your personal appearance just as beautiful as possible. Let him enter rooms so attractive and sunny that all the recollections of his home, when away from the same, shall attract him back”. While their husbands were out at work, the woman's role was to make the home as physically appealing as possible. Women were confined to their homes, rarely allowed to leave. Wives could have kind and loving husbands, yet still feel the oppression that society had placed on them. Unable to work, to leave their homes, or to vote created an oppressing environment for white middle-class women. A woman’s political voice was tied to their husbands, due to their shared identity. In “The Story of an Hour”, the protagonist, Louise Mallard, felt vast freedom when her husband unexpectedly died. Once they married, they shared an identity; she only lived for him. And upon his death, Louis Mallard allowed to finally live for herself. Although, Louise claimed that she did love her husband and will cry upon seeing his body, the idea of freedom overtakes all her senses. Louise’s conflicted reaction to her husband’s death implies that all marriages are

somewhat oppressive. Finally, in the mid 1800’s, divorce laws are adapted as well as married women’s rights. However, the stigma attached to divorce made it almost impossible for middle-class to get divorced.

Although there were many victories for married women in the 19th century, their role in society remained the same. The Married Women’s Property Acts, and the Custody of Infants Act, gave married women rights that made it easier for them to pursue divorce. Particularly, these rights allowed women to hold onto their property. Now, with the right to hold onto their property, married women no longer lost their identity. In addition, in 1860, if a married women got divorced she was able to have custody of her children. However, the short story, “The Story of an Hour” was written after these acts were put in place. Although it appeared married women's right were improving, they were still profoundly oppressed. The expectation that a woman must put her husband's needs before hers remained. And as divorce rates surged between 1870 and 1920, the negative stigma towards divorce intensified. It was said that “the reasons for the changes to the American family were the result of women’s selfish desires and a devaluation of the role of motherhood and housewife”. Women who got divorced were not being good mothers and wives if they got a divorce: which was their sole purpose in life. They were also too afraid of the social consequences of getting a divorce. It soon became the job of a wife in the nineteenth century to create a calm environment for her stressed husband. Propaganda soon started, in an attempt to convince wives to stay with their husbands. In these images, married women are depicted taking care of their sickly husbands. Often the wife is pictured draped over her husband, comforting and reassuring him that she will not leave. To create an image of a “perfect wife”; one who nurtures and stays with her family. Overall, despite the changes for married women's rights in the nineteenth century, women were still inherently oppressed by their husbands and society.

Although “The Story of an Hour” is categorized as a fictional short story, it is actually an accurate representation of the lives of white middle-class women in the 19th century. Women were oppressed by their husbands and by laws that society had placed upon them. Even when it appeared that rights were improving for women, the stigma following single or divorced women overtook many women’s desire for freedom. Similarly in the modern world, many women are afraid to admit to being a “feminist”; afraid of the negative stigma and social consequences. Although feminism is defined as the belief that men and women should be treated equally, over the years being a “feminist” as become interchangeable with being a “man-hater”. With this incorrect reputation, men and women are oppressed from expressing their beliefs. Too afraid for the social consequences from their peers. Ultimately laws and rights are not the only restrictions that can oppress a group, propaganda and social consequences can sometimes be even more powerful.