Second Chances In The Story of an Hour, written by Kate Chopin, she writes about how a woman, Mrs. Mallard, is living with her husband, but not actually living her own life. Many women in the 1800s marry in their twenties and their husbands tend to be older by five years or more. This makes it a normality for the men to have a higher stance in the marriage. Throughout the story, Kate Chopin urges women that, though they may dream of getting married and having a life with their husbands, to live a life of their own with no regrets as well. When Mrs. Mallard’s husband is reportedly killed in an accident, Mrs. Mallard grieves for the loss of her husband although, as she grieves, she begins to see her husband’s death as an opportunity for her to live her life for herself. …show more content…
Mallard is told her husband has been killed, she goes through some stages of grief. Many people believe there are five to seven stages of grief beginning with denial, guilt, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Mrs. Mallard never denies the loss of her husband like other wives have. She begins with crying, but strangely does not have the “inability to accept” the news about her husband (496). Reading that she is not reacting the same way as others makes her actions a bit odd. After crying over the loss of her husband, Mrs. Mallard leaves her sister and goes to her room for privacy. Mrs. Mallard’s sister thinks she leaves to possibly cause harm to herself, but little does her sister know that this is where Mrs. Mallard’s transition
Why would a married woman go out, spend the night with a man whom she barely knows, when she has a wonderful, devoted husband and child? Mrs. Mallard's cry of ultimate relief and the joy she felt when she learned of her husband's deathis intolerable.
Mrs. Mallard’s husband is thought to be dead, and since she has that thought in her mind she goes through many feelings
Pg. 278, 279). Her sister then comes into the room and tells her “open the door--- you will make yourself ill.” (Pg. 279), and she is afraid that she will hurt herself. So, Mrs. Mallard finally came out of her room, hugged her sister, and went downstairs with her sister and Richards. Then, the twist in the story comes.
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" proves to be a timeless short story. Although this story was written in the nineteenth century, it is still reflective and relevant of today's society. It is still popular in many high schools and college classrooms. A critical examination of this piece of literature can be done using character analysis. This is an important tool in analyzing the meanings "between the lines" in this story. Mrs. Mallard is the main character and therefore plays the most important role in the story. This makes it necessary to examine her character in order to gain insights into the story's meaning. Several key elements relating to her personality surface in the story. These elements give insights into her feelings and her thoughts. The character analysis shows Mrs. Mallard is portrayed as insensitive, selfish and a wishful thinker.
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.
She realizes that this is the benefit of her husband’s death. She has no one to live for in the coming years but herself. Moments after this revelation, her thought to be deceased husband walks through the front door. He had not died after all. The shock of his appearance kills Mrs. Mallard.
Mallard’s decision of being happy about her husband’s death was very wise and correct because that was a window of opportunity to gain her freedom back. Now she realizes that she will be able to make her own decisions and choices. Even though great care was given to her due to her heart problem, her husband still has controlled upon her life.
Mrs. Mallard was at first overjoyed with freedom because her husband was supposedly “dead,” yet at the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard comes face to face with Mr. Mallard. A whole new wave of emotions overcame Mrs. Mallard as she laid eyes on her husband instantly killing her from “a heart disease-of joy that kills.” It is ironic how Mrs. Mallard is overjoyed about her husband’s death, and she ended up dying because she found out he was alive instead. Her joy literally was killed, killing her on the inside as
Mallard’s emotions over the presumed death of her husband. The author used both dramatic and situational irony to mislead the reader and surprise them with a plot twist ending. By utilizing both external and internal conflict the author expresses the internal debate of Mrs. Mallard’s true feelings and those of the people around her. The author used symbolism to display Mrs. Mallard’s desire for freedom from her marriage. In the end it was not joy that killed Mrs. Mallard but the realization that she lost her
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
In the story “Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin creates a character that has an interesting reaction to her husband's death. The character that Chopin created was named Mrs. Louise Mallard. Mrs. Mallard was married to her husband Brently Mallard. They lived in the 1890’s, which is the 19th century. Married women stayed at home and gave all of their attention to their husbands.
Mrs.Mallard chose to accept the truth, weep and become haunted by the news and yet later the story takes an unexpected turn. She later becomes fine with the outcome for it lead her to freedom. The views of death and its significance with both writers is written with a strong aura of suffering and
Imagine if you are so excited that your husband died and he walks in your front door,how would you feel? Bad, just like how Mrs. Mallard felt when she saw her husband walk through, she died instantly. In this story Mrs.Mallard’s husband died. At first, she was sorta sad but then she realized she now had a life of her own.
Mrs. Mallard is taken good care by her sister, Josephine and her husband’s friend, Richards. Now knowing Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble, Richards is the first person to witness a horrific news about Mr. Mallard has been in a railroad disaster in the newspaper. While feeling shocked and uncertain, Richards check again to make sure is it true or not. Then the message went towards Josephine. Josephine is the only closest person who can tell her sister this heartbreaking message.