“the Story of an Hour�?(1984); the Threat of Confinement and the Possibilities of
Freedom for Women in the Late Nineteenth Century Essay Example
The possibilities of freedom for women were unlikely for women living in the
late nineteenth century. Women were confined and overpowered by men. Kate
Chopin, a women of the late nineteenth century herself, was a writer living within
such a society. In "The Story of an Hour" (1894), Kate Chopin uses elements of
settings--windows and door--in order to highlight the possibilities of freedom and the
threat of confinement for women in late nineteenth century American society.
Chopin uses figurative language of symbols and imagery to conflate the possibility of freedom with the physical setting outside the window. Chopin uses the “open” window as a symbol to suggest freedom: She juxtaposes the comfortable, roomy armchair with the window to demonstrate Mrs. Mallard's feelings of freedom and comfortability within her own home now that her husband is dead. Mrs. Mallard looks out of her window into the endless opportunities she is now able to dream of:"There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair"(Chopin 147). She uses the “tops of the trees” as symbolic imagery to describe how Mrs. Mallard is now feeling free. The spatial relation between Mrs. Mallard and the trees outside is used to suggest that freedom has become more tangible than before: "She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin 147). Chopin uses taste imagery to suggest that Mrs. Mallard has become more aware of her own senses and perception of freedom:"The delicious breath of rain was in the air"(147). Chopin conflates the patches of blue sky--a symbol of hope--to emphasize the unbounded prospects Mrs. Mallard now has facing her. Color imagery is used to suggest positive emotion: "There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window" (Chopin 148). Chopin uses
Chopin uses figurative language of symbols and imagery to conflate the possibility of freedom with the physical setting outside the window. Chopin uses the “open” window as a symbol to suggest freedom: She juxtaposes the comfortable, roomy armchair with the window to demonstrate Mrs. Mallard's feelings of freedom and comfortability within her own home now that her husband is dead. Mrs. Mallard looks out of her window into the endless opportunities she is now able to dream of:"There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair"(Chopin 147). She uses the “tops of the trees” as symbolic imagery to describe how Mrs. Mallard is now feeling free. The spatial relation between Mrs. Mallard and the trees outside is used to suggest that freedom has become more tangible than before: "She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin 147). Chopin uses taste imagery to suggest that Mrs. Mallard has become more aware of her own senses and perception of freedom:"The delicious breath of rain was in the air"(147). Chopin conflates the patches of blue sky--a symbol of hope--to emphasize the unbounded prospects Mrs. Mallard now has facing her. Color imagery is used to suggest positive emotion: "There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window" (Chopin 148). Chopin uses