A Story of an Hour Character Anazlsis
“Story of an Hour”
By Kate Chopin In the dictionary, character is defined as the aggregate of the features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing. This is what people look for in a person they read about in any kind of genre. There is no perfect character in a story. Every character has some kind of flaw in them that draws us in. This is called a tragic flaw. Tragic flaw is a flaw in the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to their down fall. The tragic flaw is what causes the internal turmoil in our character in this particular story. In “Story of an Hour” (p.168-171) by Kate Chopin, the main character Louise Mallard suffers an internal turmoil when she finds out that her husband, Brently has just died. She first sees this as a huge upset then she realizes that she is now free of her husband, who she has never truly loved. Louise also had a heart condition so that “great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.” (p.168) This is a major part of the story. At one point, the condition goes away. She realizes that her husband was part of the heart problem. Not only was the condition physical but also emotional. When she realizes that her husband has died she has a sense of being free physical but also emotional. She has conflicting emotions that she tells us about by her thoughts and actions rather then in dialogue. These are all traits that help us understand who Louise Mallard is and how she feels about the lost of her husband. In the story, Louise Mallard understands how women should act. This meaning that women should take care of her husband by loving him no matter what and having a hot meal on the table when he comes home from work. When she finds out her husband has died all of these emotions that are the complete opposite of what a women should act like come flowing into her head. She starts to think of what her future will be like without him and she is
By Kate Chopin In the dictionary, character is defined as the aggregate of the features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing. This is what people look for in a person they read about in any kind of genre. There is no perfect character in a story. Every character has some kind of flaw in them that draws us in. This is called a tragic flaw. Tragic flaw is a flaw in the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to their down fall. The tragic flaw is what causes the internal turmoil in our character in this particular story. In “Story of an Hour” (p.168-171) by Kate Chopin, the main character Louise Mallard suffers an internal turmoil when she finds out that her husband, Brently has just died. She first sees this as a huge upset then she realizes that she is now free of her husband, who she has never truly loved. Louise also had a heart condition so that “great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.” (p.168) This is a major part of the story. At one point, the condition goes away. She realizes that her husband was part of the heart problem. Not only was the condition physical but also emotional. When she realizes that her husband has died she has a sense of being free physical but also emotional. She has conflicting emotions that she tells us about by her thoughts and actions rather then in dialogue. These are all traits that help us understand who Louise Mallard is and how she feels about the lost of her husband. In the story, Louise Mallard understands how women should act. This meaning that women should take care of her husband by loving him no matter what and having a hot meal on the table when he comes home from work. When she finds out her husband has died all of these emotions that are the complete opposite of what a women should act like come flowing into her head. She starts to think of what her future will be like without him and she is
Cited: Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. By X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 169-71. Print. Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/>.