The Story of an Hour

1103 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of story of an hour

Kate Chopin’s impressive literary piece, The Story of an Hour, encompasses the story of an hour of life, an hour of freedom. We must seize the day and live our lives to the fullest without any constraints. This very rich and complete short story carries a lot of meaning and touches a readers feelings as well as mind. Throughout this piece much symbolism is brought about, which only helps us to understand the meaning and success of Kate Chopin’s work. Kate allows her reader to think and allows us to understand the meaning of her story with the different uses of symbols such as heart troubles, the armchair, the open window, springtime, and the calm face and goddess of victory. We eventually realize little by little that Mrs. Mallard experiences the luck of happiness and freedom in her life, but we come to understand its meaning only at the end of the story.

“Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.” Learning about Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble in the opening sentence of the story is how the death of her husband is announced. We the readers feel sad for her and assume she is upset as well. We expect her to feel even more pain and ill after hearing about her husband’s tragic death. The physical heart problems that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with symbolize her emotional heart problems of her uncertainty of her marriage and her unhappiness with her lack of freedom. Her weakened heart begins to race as she reflects on her new life—her new life of freedom and independence. Joy pumps through her body and the thought of her being free to live the life she wants and not in the shadow of her husband anymore fills her with...

... middle of paper ...

...eal hour of independence—The Story of an Hour.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for Shakespeare and Other Authors. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .

Dagenhart, Natalla. "Literary Analysis: The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin - by Natalia Dagenhart - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. 11 Mar. 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .

Lorcher, Trent. "Symbols in "The Story of an Hour," Irony in "The Story of an Hour," and "The Story of an Hour" Analysis." Find Health, Education, Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub - Apply To Be A Writer Today! 26 Dec. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • Essay Comparing Louise of Story of an Hour and Nora of A Doll's House

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Introduction to Literature: Reading, Analyzing, and Writing.2nd ed.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Mrs. Mallard in The Story of an Hour

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2010. 261-263. Print.

    Read More

  • Power Through Freedom

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. DiYanni Robert. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. 38-41. Print.

    Read More

  • Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Women's Independence in the 19th Century: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Eds. Elizabeth M. Schaaf, Katherine A. Retan, and Joanne Diaz. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1997. 12-14. Print.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour. 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.

    Read More

  • Death After Freedom in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions in the Story of an Hour." Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-220. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    It seems from the description that Mrs. Mallard has been trapped in this marriage for a long time even though we know she is young. How young is she? I would probably guess that she would be in her middle thirties. She probably got married very young, as they usually did at that time. The women would usually stay at home and the men would go to work. Things have changed a lot now a day. I don t think that this marriage is arranged. I think that she has been forced by her society to marry despite what she may want to do in her heart and soul. I believe she does love her husband, but it is possible to love a man and not be married to him. Is her heart condition purely physical or is it psychological and emotional? We know that women can be hysterical, timid, weak and very emotional. When is her first name mentioned and why? That is the interesting part of the story that gave me the idea of my whole conclusion. Her first name is only told to us after she hears of her husband’s death and when she feels the freest. Before her husbands death she is referred to us as Mrs. Mallard or she, and after when her husband returns home, she is referred to as wife.

    Read More

  • Essay on Setting in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 4th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martins, 1997. 12-15.

    Read More

  • Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. A. “The Story of an Hour.” Baym 1609-1611.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Lottery And The Story Of An Hour

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Perrine's Literature: Structure Sound & Sense. 11th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2010. 541. Print.

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Theme Analysis

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin expresses many themes through her writing. The main themes of this short story are the joy independence brings, the oppression of marriage in nineteenth century America, and how fast life can change.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Identity In The Story Of An Hour

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s short story "The Story of an Hour," utilizes superb symbolism and elucidating points of interest with a specific end goal to differentiation Mrs. Mallard 's everyday and dreary life. Chopin utilizes symbolism and expressive subtle elements to differentiate the rich conceivable outcomes for which Mrs. Mallard longs with the dull reality of her regular life. The main theme of this story is “the quest for identity” because Louise’s sudden self-discovery shows that she had been seeking her own identity in a male-dominated world at the time. Kate Chopin wrote this in the 19th century when males were “dominate” and females were “passive.” Mr. Brently’s "death" was what initiated her “quest for Identity” without him “dying” she would have never thought about how

    Read More

  • “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a brilliant short story of irony and emotion. The story demonstrates conflicts that take us through the character’s emotions as she finds out about the death of her husband. Without the well written series of conflicts and events this story, the reader would not understand the depth of Mrs. Mallard’s inner conflict and the resolution at the end of the story. The conflict allows us to follow the emotions and unfold the irony of the situation in “The Story of an Hour.”

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Analysis

    404 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Story of an Hour

Open Document