“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a story that has been controversial since its publication in 1894, with reviews ranging from highly critical to great acclaim. The story follows Chopin’s character Mrs. Mallard who is introduced at the same time she is receiving news of her husband’s death. The story is largely a mixture of radical views for its time, subtle meanings, and symbolism. While modern day readers read this story with an open mind, many men - of the 1890’s and much of the 1900’s - would have been outraged at its surface meaning. However, even today Chopin’s story receives criticism for being a gross portrayal of a woman's loss. This is due to the fact that many individuals continue to view the story at face value. Nevertheless, readers of Chopin’s story will find themselves reacting either one extreme or the other. But it is this reader participation that is crucial in determining what the story will be. Despite all beliefs, Mrs. Mallard is a woman who is stuck in her time trying to escape society’s constraints, develop her own identity, all while “coping” with the loss of her husband.
Chopin’s story begins with the introduction of its protagonist, Mrs. Mallard. At the same time of her introduction, Mrs. Mallard is receiving news of her husband’s death and the reader is being introduced to the first of many of Chopin’s subtle descriptions of the time. Mrs. Mallard is introduced to the reader with her first name withheld, while her husband is introduced as Brentley Mallard. This is a direct representation of the times and how women were almost always referred to as solely “Mrs.” What this implies, however, is that Mrs. Mallard is just a wife and by having her first name withheld, she lacks much of her identi...
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...tedly, but instead the idea that she no longer will have her husbands will forcing her to have no self-assertion, which was common of that time. By the last 3 paragraphs of the story Louise has come to full realization of what is to come.
With the death of Brentley Mallard, Louise sees the things to come and fantasizes about the life ahead of her. She thinks of “spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own.” She has ascended into a new life much like she ascended the stairs in the beginning, foreshadowing the good to come in her life. “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.” By saying this Chopin implies that although Louise was alive, what’s the point in being so if you can’t feel it.
Talk about stairs in beginning and stairs in the end.
Louise is excited about the prospect of not having "any sharp will bending hers." Chopin suggests to the reader that even if a person's will had kind intentions that it was cruel to impose that will on any human or creature.
To begin with the first display of symbolism in the story is Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble representing her dissatisfaction with her marriage and unhappiness. Chopin lets the reader know in the beginning that Mrs. Mallard is ill. “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” (57). ...
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.
After hearing about the death of her husband she locks herself in a room and stares at this window. Through the window she sees a blue sky, fluffy clouds, and treetops; these could be seen as a symbolism of hope to come. In this moment the open window is providing Louise with life. Through the window she sees a clear, bright view into her distant future. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself” (P12). It seems as though Louise was trapped throughout this marriage. While looking out the window she realizes all the opportunities that awaits her now that her husband is dead and she does not have to abide to the demands on another person. ” There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose”
As Mrs. Mallard lets her realization take root she begins to chant, “free, free, free” (Chopin, 75). This shows that she accepts her new fate and knows that she will be okay without her husband. Louise becomes aware that she has been dictated by social expectation and requirement, but now can live for herself once again with no one to answer to. Louise admits, “she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death” (Chopin, 75), but sees her future beyond that now. Social expectations no longer obligate her to be the woman she was. Louise is now able to do what she feels is most beneficial for her as an individual, and not what would be expected in her monogamous
This seems to tell us that she used to live as her husband wished her to live and not by her own wishes. After this, she will live according to her own wishes, something she had not experienced for a long time. In each part of the sentence, the verb “no one” and “herself” occupy the same relationship. This is to mean that either Mrs. Mallard is the idea that no one finds her of value, or she is suggesting that it is only rationale for her to be herself if there is no one else to set rules for her. In the statement, “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long” (Chopin 2), Mrs. Mallard is afraid of what will happen in her afterlife. It is only once she thought her husband had died and that she was free and was now excited about living. This is another example of Chopin’s use of ironic style, for this prayer is not
Chopin reflects her rejection of the “postures of femininity” through her character’s descriptions. She describes her as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression.” Describing her as young and calm are what men looked for in a wife in the 19th century. They wanted a submissive woman to tend to their needs as Chopin’s description suggests. Furthermore, Chopin says of her character Mrs. Mallard, “she would live for herself.” Her character believes she will now be free of her marriage, and won’t be “repressed” as aforementioned any longer by her husband. Wives had a natural servitude towards their husbands as husbands worked and went about their lives. All in all, Chopin displays her character as having a joyous moment after the death of her husband because she is let go of being forced into her “femininity.”
The aspirations and expectations of freedom can lead to both overwhelming revelations and melancholy destruction. In Kate Chopin’s “ The Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard is stricken with the news of her husband’s “death” and soon lead to new found glory of her freedom and then complete catastrophe in the death of herself. Chopin’s use of irony and the fluctuation in tone present the idea that freedom can be given or taken away without question and can kill without warning. After learning of her husband’s death in a railroad disaster, Mrs. Mallard sinks into a deep state of grief, as one would be expected to do upon receiving such news.
When people lose close relatives, the natural response is unbearable grief. Yet, in stark contrast, in the short story, “Story of An Hour,” by Kate Chopin, the main character, Louise Mallard feels liberated after her husband’s death. At the beginning of the hour after she learns that her husband is dead, she is both sad and shocked. But, soon, she feels a strong power coming over her: freedom. Kate Chopin contrasts the typical grief that a widow faces with Mrs. Mallard’s “abnormal” reaction to her husband’s death. The author skillfully uses the “death” of Mr. Mallard to illustrate the approach of freedom for Mrs. Mallard. While doing so, Chopin portrays her attitude towards women’s roles in society: women are undermined and trapped in the shell of marriage.
...Mallard’s death up to the reader’s own interpretation, but it seems that she is trying to secretly prove that women do not have to be dependent upon men. Chopin demonstrates throughout the literary work that women can possess joy without having a man by their side, which contradicts the beliefs of the 1800’s society. Chopin’s use of an ambiguous death and irony successfully create an entertaining story that courageously takes a stand for women’s freedom.
... This woman suffers a tremendous amount from the commitment of her marriage, and the death of her husband does not affect her for long. A marriage such as this seems so unbelievable, yet a reader can see the realistic elements incorporated into the story. This begs the question of how undesirable marriage was during Chopin’s life. The unhappiness felt by Mrs. Mallard seems to be very extreme, but Chopin creates a beautiful story that reflects upon the idea of marriage as an undesired relationship and bond to some women in the nineteenth century.
Because of Mrs. Mallard's heart condition, everyone basically takes care of her very carefully. When her sister and family friend find out that Mr. Mallard got killed in an accident, they take time to tell Mrs. Mallard that her husband died. She cries, then goes to her room to be by herself and locks the door. Inside, she seems terrified of some realization that comes to her and she finally realizes that it's her freedom. Even though they loved each other, and she's saddened by his death, she feels free for the first time. While Mrs. Mallard is having this realization, her sister keeps trying to check on her. Finally, Mrs. Mallard comes out of her room, and they start to go downstairs. Suddenly, Mr. Mallard, who isnt really dead, comes in. When Mrs. Mallard sees him, she has a massive shock and dies.
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 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.”
Coming to the end of this class I have learned a lot about what it takes to make a piece of literature leave you feeling a certain way. A lot goes into setting up a atmosphere in a story because you are not really seeing it in front of your face so you must imagine it. The author wants you to imagine a certain scene and feel a certain way through their words and descriptions. An important component to making a reader understand the atmosphere and visualize the scene is by the setting. Setting is where a specific event is taking place. Without setting it would be hard for a reader to not only visualize but to even understand the theme, tone and the atmosphere. Throughout this semester we learned this from genres such as short story, poems and