Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis
In the “Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin establishes the theme of freedom and confinement. The author focuses on Mrs. Mallard’s tragic hour of trying to find her own individuality. Chopin employs various symbols conveying them to the themes of freedom and confinement. Mrs. Mallard, who has a weak heart, lives a secluded life, maybe a boring one until one day. In one afternoon, Mrs. Mallard receives news about Mr. Mallard’s death. From this moment, she goes through emotions that question her marriage and her newfound freedom. But when her husband returns home, Louise is having a shock. She dies of joy. Kate Chopin use symbols such as the heart troubles, the armchair, and the patches of blue sky to establish the themes of freedom and confinement.
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Mallard’s heart troubles. The symbol of heart trouble reveals the fact that Mrs. Mallard’s confinement comes from this weakness. As Chopin implies, Louise’s “heart trouble” (Chopin) is not as much a medical problem as it is an emotional problem. Once Josephine told her of Mr. Mallard’s death, the author states “she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.” (Chopin). The heart trouble that Mrs. Mallard is having symbolizes the oppressed life she is leading and how the powerful will of Mr. Mallard that covers up her identity. As author Jamil states “The physiological aspect of Mrs. Mallard’s heart ailment appears to be, then, a result of the psychological burden of allowing another individual’s (i.e., her husband’s) “powerful will” to smother and silence her own will” (Jamil 216). Therefore, the symbol of heart troubles represents emotional and physical confinement of Mrs. Mallard. The unhappy marriage has a negative impact on her heart. The idea of seclusion or as Chopin says the “abandonment’ is developed in the symbol of the
Mallard’s heart troubles. The symbol of heart trouble reveals the fact that Mrs. Mallard’s confinement comes from this weakness. As Chopin implies, Louise’s “heart trouble” (Chopin) is not as much a medical problem as it is an emotional problem. Once Josephine told her of Mr. Mallard’s death, the author states “she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.” (Chopin). The heart trouble that Mrs. Mallard is having symbolizes the oppressed life she is leading and how the powerful will of Mr. Mallard that covers up her identity. As author Jamil states “The physiological aspect of Mrs. Mallard’s heart ailment appears to be, then, a result of the psychological burden of allowing another individual’s (i.e., her husband’s) “powerful will” to smother and silence her own will” (Jamil 216). Therefore, the symbol of heart troubles represents emotional and physical confinement of Mrs. Mallard. The unhappy marriage has a negative impact on her heart. The idea of seclusion or as Chopin says the “abandonment’ is developed in the symbol of the