Theme Of Stress In The Story Of An Hour

Wives have high expectations to their husbands created by society and popular culture. These unrealistic expectations can cause many women to feel pressured and stress which is a leading cause for women’s mental break downs and poor psychological health. Kate Chopin’s opposition to the oppression of the female in society is obvious when examining her story “The Story of an Hour” through the feminist lens by irony. Weakness is often a term that is used towards women to have them appear as needy and less than men. This is demonstrated in multiple ways throughout Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” by the main character Mrs. Mallard appearing to the reader as a troubled soul whom has nothing but the stability of her marriage. The greatest irony

Stress is the common side effect of these events as well as the leading cause of death in woman. This stress is represented in Chopin’s The Story of An Hour by Mrs. Mallard falling to her death due to the stress of having to live with her dreaded husband for many long years, as well as the extra stress of the “death” added to her heart condition. This stress is often overlooked by society and untreated which can lead to a bigger disorder that can cause suicidal thoughts. Couples today states that “When couple relationships are under stress, partners begin to physically and emotionally distance themselves from each other.” ("Couples" issue of Visions Journal (4), p. 5) This ties in closely with Mrs. Mallard and Bentley because, it appears to the audience that Mallard is under stress of not actually having a life although she is unaware of these feelings until after her husband’s death. This mental instability has caused Mrs. Mallard to feel as if she has no thoughts or anything because, her husband is seen as the negative antagonist in the story in the eyes of Mrs. Mallard which can be interpreted from the audience by the tone and irony towards his