There are many different tones, themes, characters, and symbolism in the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin explains the story of a negative view of marriage by showing the reader with a woman who is overjoyed that her husband has died, also the characters in the story itself goes through multiply changes from fear to depression to finally freedom. The lone character, who goes through the most change be far throughout the entire story is the main character Mrs. Louise Mallard. This transformation doesn’t just help change the character of Louise Mallard, further the themes of the story and solidify the tones that the author are trying to set for the story.…
Kate Chopin’s non-fiction work “The Story of An Hour” gives a detailed account of what Mrs. Mallard feels after heartbreak. Mrs. Mallard is inflicted with heart trouble as her husband dies. She feels there are freedoms and opportunities for her to take advantage of along with the grievance of her husband’s death. These complex issues are accounted for in her brief characterization of her last hour of life. Ironically her husband did not pass away, but she still creates a tragic ending.…
Throughout history, women have been oppressed because they did not have the same rights as men. Thus, they have suffered unfair treatment such as not being able to vote, having their voices heard in the political sphere because of their gender and so on. Therefore, feminist criticism, which focuses on the women’s perspective, gradually formed and became quickly integrated into the literary works such as Kate Chopin’s short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “Desiree’s Baby”. Kate Chopin is an American author who advocated that women and men both should have right of equality and freedom. In her short story, “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin describes a young wife who has heart disease which is why her sister and…
Directly presuming Mrs. Mallards knowledge of her husband's death she states,”She did not hear the story as many women heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance” (Chopin, par 3). This quote from Mrs. Mallard exhibits her mixed emotions causing her to become conflicted between grieving for him or viewing the scenario in the optimistic manner as she is now free. As Mrs. Mallard continues to pace her room contemplating the situation, Chopin uses the inviting view of the world from the open window to quell Mrs. Mallard’s physical exhaustion; therefore, she realized the blue skies and trees were now solely reserved for her. Accordingly, the following symbolic scene suspended Mrs. Mallard in a deep thought to finally reflect on her position as she is no longer married. Her discovery concluded that she escaped the blanket of her husband's persistent will which furthermore compelled her to freely assert herself in this new world. Chopin affirms this as Mrs. Mallard, now known as Louise whispers,”Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin par…
In “The Story of An Hour,” Kate Chopin uses imagery and irony to show a wife’s newfound freedom and joy upon hearing the news of her husband’s death. At first, Mrs. Mallard…
Both Kincaid and Chopin wrote from their own experiences to portray a theme of feminism and women breaking away from stereotypes from their time periods. The Story of an Hour is the storyof a womans excitement for freedom from her husbands control. This story criticizes the sacrifices made by women to pleasethe stereotypes society had set, and that it attacks marriages where one personcontrols the relationship. Mrs. Mallards death at the end ofthe story is said to be brought on by the pain Mrs. Mallard felt when the shelost the joy and individuality she gained from her husbands death and not from happiness and relief of seeing her husband alive. Mrs. Mallards excitement for freedom illustrates how women of the timefelt about their male-dominated society. The women were ready to break free andexperience a more equalized society.…
In this novel “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin symbolizes a negative outlook of marriage by presenting the reader with a woman who is clearly overjoyed that her husband has died. A good thesis statement for The Story of an Hour would be that the story unveils the inner psychological strains of women who were restrained and misunderstood by agonizing social outlooks upon marriage....…
Marriage was also another role women took part in, as they were expected to. Most of the time was so they could have children, and marriage isn’t like that today. People get married today to spend the rest of their lives with their significant other and put a label on it. In the story, the quote “And yet she had loved him sometimes, Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!”(Chopin 15). During this era, marriage wasn’t always about love. Sometimes it was just to better a man’s life. The main character Mrs. Mallard feels she gave up freedom for someone she isn’t sure she truly loves. The idea of being free, and being able to make her own choices made her realize she didn’t care for her marriage. Marriage usually was good for the men. Another example Chopin uses to describe marriage is, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch in her body” (Chopin 11). Mrs. Mallard is a free women! Her life was full of anxiety. When she found out her husband was dead she was free from marriage, and free from her everyday life. She was excited because she saw a new beginning ahead of…
When she portrays Mrs. Mallard as " young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength." (paragraph 8, line 1), she is telling a lot about the protagonist before the death of her husband. The words "whose lines bespoke repression" expose the fact that Mrs. Mallard has felt oppressed by her marriage, and the "certain strength" with which the writer describes Mrs. Mallard may make reference to the power the protagonist has had in order to be able to bear her marriage. In addition, in describing Mrs. Mallard behaviour after she has learned the news about her husband, Chopin uses metaphors, such as " she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window." (paragraph 18, lines 1-2), to illustrate the happiness Mrs. Mallard is feeling now that Mr. Mallard has passed away. Another example of Mrs. Mallard behaviour can be seen in…
Mallard is not a bad husband when Kate Chopin writes, “She knew that she would weep again when she saw that kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely” (Chopin 37-39). Mrs. Mallard knows she will cry again when she sees her husband at the funeral. Mrs. Mallard’s husband did not treat her badly. The line where the writer mentioned, “tender hands folded in death” This means that the husband is not abusive at all. Mrs. Mallard’s husband was a good to her and he always looked at her very lovingly. It is the social norm of that time period that all men oppress their wives even if they do it out of kindness. Then Mrs. Mallard imagines the years ahead, which belong only to her now, and spreads her arms out joyfully with anticipation. She will be free, on her own without anyone to oppress her. Louise knows that she often felt love for her husband but tells herself that none of that matters anymore. She feels ecstatic with her a sense of…
Mallard was stuck in a marriage she wasn’t happy with. Although she loved Mr. Mallard, he was preventing her from being independent. This is seen after his “death” when Chopin writes, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!”” (1). Mrs. Mallard, although still grieving, is ecstatic about her newly found freedom. She realizes her husband can no longer oppress her. Just as Mrs. Mallard is accepting her new found freedom, Mr. Mallard walks through the front door in perfect health. Chopin writes, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease- of joy that kills” (2). Ironically, the joy of her new found freedom is what caused her demise. The shock of her husband returning after the jubilation of his death was too much for her heart to handle. Although the shackles of her oppression were broken, her freedom was ripped away when he returned. This ultimately shows the futility of her freedom.…
The author, Kate Chopin uses marriage to show how powerless women were compared to men during the late eighteen hundreds in her short story entitled, “The Story of An Hour “. At the beginning of the story the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard has a heart condition. Due to her illness, her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards has the hard task to tell Louise that her husband Brently Mallard has died in a train wreck. During this first hour Mrs. Mallard experiences the sorrow of her husband's death and the loneliness she would feel, but also the conflicting and exciting feelings of being able to feel alive and the freedom she will have in the future being alone without her husband.…
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, there are many literary elements that make it very diverse from most short storied about a husband and wife. The author uses similes, metaphors, and much irony throughout the story that gives it the strange but interesting meaning it portrays. The literary terms in this story allow the reader to feel the emotion of the character, and the irony enhances the bitter-sweetness of the ending.…
After I read the short story "Story of an hour" by Kate Chopin I was surprised about marriages from back in time, and how women barely had any rights. The story expresses a woman's hurt, and pain towards the supposed death of her husband. The news takes her by surprise, and she becomes more depressed with her life. Kate Chopin uses profound language to depict her pain and sorrow.…
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” focuses on Louise Mallard, the wife of Brently Mallard, who has just discovered that her husband has been killed in a railroad disaster. Overcome with grief, Mrs. Mallard hides away in her room for an hour reflecting on what life will become like without her husband. Once realizing that she is free from her oppressed marriage, Mrs. Mallard becomes elated. Upon discovering her newfound freedoms, Mrs. Mallard departs from her room only to find that her husband is still alive. Because Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” occurs during a time in which women’s freedoms were trumped by oppression, Chopin uses a series of symbols, and an omniscient third-person point of view to show that women longed to escape…