The Disease Of Marriage In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour
The Disease of Marriage: “The Story of An Hour”
In “The Story of An Hour, ” Kate Chopin’s use of symbolism conveys that the selfhood of a women is oppressed by the disease of marriage. Throughout the story, the author represents this oppression and the relief of it through the open window filled with spring life, the comfy armchair she relaxes in, and the heart troubles of Mrs.Millard. Each stand as a symbol for a emotional strain acted upon from the intense limiting human connection of marriage.
The open window Mrs.Millard gazes from after she hears of the death of her husband illustrates her new freedoms and opportunities awaiting her. As she watches the colors, breathes in the scents, and listens to sounds outside, joy sweeps through her body. Under her breath, she says, “free, free, free!" Now she is free from the constraints bounding down her independence and self identity in marriage. Without her husband, she can live a life where she is not expected to take care of someone else.
The spring life symbolizes her new life as a free woman. “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.” Just like plant life in the spring, she …show more content…
We are first informed of Luise’s heart problems in first sentence. “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.” This “heart trouble” represents the oppression she feels in her marriage and the after effects of it. However, once she is told her husband is dead, her heart problems are not brought up again until the very end. With her new found freedom, her blood pumps and “warms up and relaxed every inch of her body.” Her heart pumps fully and strongly, her body is warm with blood because she no longer has that oppression that was once upon
In “The Story of An Hour, ” Kate Chopin’s use of symbolism conveys that the selfhood of a women is oppressed by the disease of marriage. Throughout the story, the author represents this oppression and the relief of it through the open window filled with spring life, the comfy armchair she relaxes in, and the heart troubles of Mrs.Millard. Each stand as a symbol for a emotional strain acted upon from the intense limiting human connection of marriage.
The open window Mrs.Millard gazes from after she hears of the death of her husband illustrates her new freedoms and opportunities awaiting her. As she watches the colors, breathes in the scents, and listens to sounds outside, joy sweeps through her body. Under her breath, she says, “free, free, free!" Now she is free from the constraints bounding down her independence and self identity in marriage. Without her husband, she can live a life where she is not expected to take care of someone else.
The spring life symbolizes her new life as a free woman. “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.” Just like plant life in the spring, she …show more content…
We are first informed of Luise’s heart problems in first sentence. “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.” This “heart trouble” represents the oppression she feels in her marriage and the after effects of it. However, once she is told her husband is dead, her heart problems are not brought up again until the very end. With her new found freedom, her blood pumps and “warms up and relaxed every inch of her body.” Her heart pumps fully and strongly, her body is warm with blood because she no longer has that oppression that was once upon