Preview

The Joy That Kills

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
809 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Joy That Kills
Brandie Torres
Rogers
ENC 1102
11 September 2013
The Joy that Kills
Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour” is a story about a woman, Mrs. Louise Mallard, who has just learned the news that her husband has died in a tragic train wreck. The most significant line of the story is the very last line that hints at the theme of the story as well as the overall irony of it. Kate Chopin’s story talks about approximately “an hour” of time where Louise learns that her husband has died to the time she sees him walking through their front door alive after all. Louise has significant heart troubles so when her sister tells her of the news, she attempts to take extreme caution in doing so as to protect her health. At first when hearing the news she weeps once in front of her sister, Josephine, then retreats to her room for some alone time. She notices all the living things that reside outside her window. All of a sudden she gets excited at the thought of her husband being dead and blurts out how free she is, “Free! Body and soul free!” Her sister instantly worries when she is shouting in the room, asking her to get out of the room concerning for health once again. Louise walks down the stairs to someone opening the front door of the house, it turns out to be her husband who is perfectly fine. Her sister cries out, his best friend named Richards tries to block him from her view, and Louise Mallard ends up dying.
We as readers are left with an ambiguous quote, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.” A large part of the story that makes it such a big deal is the time period it deals with and the situation that takes place in that time period. This was written in the early 1900s in a time when women’s rights were not as prominent as they are today. Kate Chopin was known as a feminist author and portrayed that in many of her writings. This story showed how women in that time dealt with their marriages, Louise is shown as a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Louise Mallard the main character received the news of her husband’s death. At first the news shocked her. When alone in her room she realizes that she is free. Filled with excitement and the feeling of being reborn she journeys downstairs to find her husband alive and well. Mrs. Mallard then dies; the doctors claimed it was joy. Through the “Story of an Hour” it is discovered that Louise Mallard is a selfish yet strong character.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This short story describes the main character, Louise Mallard, as we see her “metamorphosis” throughout Chopin’s work of fiction. “The Story of an Hour” refers to Mrs. Mallard’s life where she gains her liberty. This scene, where Mrs. Mallard will supposedly grieve for her husband, deliberately exposes a lot on her character and her new discovery of living. “The Story of an Hour” makes us see some perspective on a married woman who opens up herself and shows her true feelings deep down there, for what we called “inner-self”. Chopin’s use of foreshadowing and irony gives us a look of what is to come in the story. One specific example of this is when Chopin portrays the character so calm after the death of her husband. Chopin portrays this conflict to be very wearing on the…

    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the main character (Mrs.Mallard) is a married woman. Mrs.Mallard was afflicted with a “heart problem”. The author was not very specific about her troubled heart, which seemed to be a symbol of not just physical, but emotional distress as well. Jaqueline (Ms.Mallards sister) took precaution before announcing her husbands death to her because of that issue. When Jaqueline finally stated that her husband had supposedly died, she weeped momentarily but her grief was gone once she realized a new sense of life that was to be experienced. Ms.Mallard became rather joyful instead. She isolated herself in a room, and as she examined the outside through her window, she discovered a new sense of independence and freedom within her, rather than grief towards her husbands death. “Body and soul free”, she began to say to herself. She was at her highest peak of happiness until later on in the story when it turned out her husband was alive all along. It is ironic that the main character was so ecstatic, that when she saw her husband standing before her, her shock and disappointment at the loss of her new life was so intense that she passed away.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mallard's Awakening

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s,”The Story of an Hour,” is an ironic and symbolic story as it portrays an innuendo of repression through the example married women. Chopin’s short story begins with Mrs. Mallard becoming lurid as she hears of her husband's death. Consequently, Mrs. Mallard underwent changes from depressed to an elated state of emotion. Chopin displayed Mrs. Mallards’ grievances and attitude towards freedom through her diction. Just as Mrs. Mallard perceived that she gained her freedom, news was delivered to her stating Brently Mallard was alive. Without hesitation Mrs. Mallard died not only because her freedom was gone, but because she felt guilty when she happily reflected upon her husband's death. Presumably, the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death was heart disease, thus making Chopin’s…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mallard's Irony

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mrs. Louise Mallard, the main character, in “The Story of an Hour,” is told the news that her husband has been killed in a train accident. After the first couple of grief cries she begins to feel hope, relief, and freedom. It comes to her scenes that her marriage and relationship with her husband, Mr. Mallard, is brutal. Just before Louise live could not get any better all of her hopes and dreams were crashed as she sees the arrival of her husband is perfectly fine conditions. Mrs. Louise death was caused by the joyful shock of seeing her husband. In “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin uses irony to address Louise Mallard unhappiness and brutal marriage, and how she wants freedom in her life.…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Story of an Hour” is a two page short story written by Kate Chopin (born February 8, 1851 died August 22, 1904) (Larsson Donald, and Erskine Thomas 1), but despite its small size, it is filled with conflicting emotions and symbolism. The amount of well-hidden symbolism can make it very confusing, but it also gives the story an unlimited amount of meaning. At first glance, many may not realize that the sky is a symbol, or understand a kind “of joy that kills” (Chopin 128), and cannot comprehend the mental state someone must be in to fell “free” (129) from hearing of death of her spouse.…

    • 2338 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" teaches us the importance of not repressing who we really are, forsaking our own happiness just to please someone else. "The Story of an Hour" is about a young woman, Louise Mallard, who finds out her husband was killed in an accident. In the story, we follow Louise Mallard in the hour following the receipt of the news of her husband's death, through her period if grief and into her revelation if new found freedom. The story ends with a final twist, Louise Mallard's husband walks in the door, oblivious to the situation, and she dies instantly of " heart disease--of the joy that kills (413)." The hour spent looking into Louise Mallard's life is meant to serve as a warning against giving up one's self completely in love and marriage. Chopin teaches us that in marriage we often repress our own feelings and desires, in the pursuit of pleasing our partner, to the point of losing site of who we really are.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, was published over a century ago in 1894, but even with its age the story manages to be relevant in modern times. Upon first glance the short story is fleeting at only two pages in length and lasts for only an hour and due to this it could be seen as simple. This short story tells the tale of Louise Mallard, who has heart issues, learns from her sister Josephine that her husband, Brently Mallard was killed in train accident. Upon hearing this terrible news, she immediately started to cry before retreating to her room. In her room Louise Mallard goes through a profound awakening. Sometime later, Josephine goes and gets Louise from her room and upon going down the stairs; Louise is shocked to see her reportedly dead husband coming into their home. Mrs. Mallard suddenly dies, which doctors attributed to her heart troubles. Although at first this story seems simple, but surprisingly “The Story of an Hour” is a deep and symbolic story, full of irony and feminist themes of freedom and self awareness.…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mrs Mallard Oppression

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In The Story of an Hour, the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, is given terrible news as she learns her husband has died in a train accident, to which she reacts in an unexpected way; instead of being heartbroken she feels happy, free and as if she has been born again, which is contrary to what any woman should feel were they in her position. The author of the story, Kate Chopin, takes the reader from one end to another when she gives hints on the protagonist's feelings before and after her husband's death, making the clearly identifiable statement that marriage is a way of oppression for women. Though Chopin never states this directly, she implies it when describing Mrs. Mallard and her behaviour, as well as when depicting the setting.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The story revolves around the theme of death, or so it seems. This story is really about life, she is finally free from the shackles of marriage, the burden of having to take care of someone for the rest of your life, this possibility is worse than death. Maybe death in this story is a metaphor for marriage, and when she got rid of her marriage Louise started “drinking in a very elixir of life.” (Chopin 279)…

    • 77 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Story of an Hour Response

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s short story titled “The Story of An Hour” focuses on the life-changing events that transpire within an hour in the life of a certain Louise Mallard, before ultimately leading to her demise. The story begins as the news of her husband’s death is broken to Mrs. Mallard, with utmost care, as apparently she suffers from a heart disease.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Her hour

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story written in the 1800’s that describes the roller coaster of reactions and emotions the main character, Louise Mallard, endures after hearing the news that her husband is believed to have been killed in an accident. Although Mrs. Mallard may be criticized for what seems to be ‘heartless’ at first, the story illustrates exactly how different a woman felt in the 1800’s compared to how a woman would feel today if the accident occurred.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”, she talks about an hour in the life of the main character, Mrs. Millard. She is afflicted with a heart problem and received some terrible news; her husband has passed away due to a train accident. Mrs. Millard’s sister, Josephine, and Richard, her husband’s friend, are there to break the horrifying news to her as gently as possible. They are both concerned that the new might put her health in a great deal of danger. Ironically, Mrs. Millard reacts to the news with excitement. Even though the event is heartbreaking, Mrs. Millard feels an overwhelming sense of freedom from the depressing life she was living. She keeps whispering, “Free! Body and soul free!”. She is happy because she does not have to live for anyone but for herself now. At the end of the story, Mr. Millard opens the door and is surprised by his sister in law, Josephine, gasp. Mr. Millard did not have the slightest idea about the accident that he was supposedly in. With a quick motion, Richard tried to block Mr. Millard’s view of his wife, but it was too late. The doctors said she died of a heart…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a short story about a woman with a heart condition named Louise Mallard, who after hearing the news of her husband’s death, retreats to her bedroom to celebrate her freedom from his “…powerful will bending hers with that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature (Chopin 343).” Once Louise collects herself enough to rejoin her sister and acquaintances downstairs, she enters the room at the exact same time her husband walks through the front door. At the sight of a living Brently, Louise drops dead of a heart attack, presumably, “of joy that kills” (Chopin 343).…

    • 2017 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays