The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

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In the time period when women were treated as property instead of as actual human beings is the basis for a lot of Kate Chopin’s work. Her heterox stance on the world was not liked nor was it approved of, but that only makes her work that much more controversial and interesting. Mrs. Mallard is told by her sister and husbands best friend that he has been killed in a horrific train accident. Mrs. Mallard has a condition that causes her loved ones much worry about the news but surprisingly she takes it extremely well. After coming to terms with the news and actually being happy about having her freedom, her husband walks through the door, the shock causes her to drop dead. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” she uses a disturbing scenario to shed light on the way women were trapped in their lives during the turn of the century. In “The Story of an Hour” “The Story of an Hour” is a tragic tale of loss, the loss of a loved one and the loss of freedom which is a key point in this story. Kate Chopin weaves an intricate tale and uses a view point that most people do not when their husband is perceived dead. The thoughts of the freedom that our main character Mrs. Mallard feels as she learns the tragic news is definitely not the emotion that would be expected but for her it truly is release. The story and Kate Chopin’s views on the world all surround the tragedy that she experienced in her own life which has led to countless short stories and books that to this day are widely respected and read. Mrs. Mallard suffers from a weak heart so when she finds out about her husband’s death it is done very carefully. “It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” (Chopin par.... ... middle of paper ... ...r” is no different because when her own husband died she to gained a great freedom. The way that Mrs. Mallard reacts in “The Story of an Hour” is truly disturbing but it is thought provoking and really brings out a lot of points about the way that women during the turn of the century actually saw their husbands. Works Cited "Chopin, Katherine (1851-1904)." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” 1894. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin, Vol. 1. Ed. Per Seyerstad. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana UP, 1969. 352-54. Print. Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin's The Story of an Hour." The Explicator 61.4 (2003): 210+. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions in The Story of an Hour." The Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215+. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

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