A Hour By Kate Chopin

The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and ‘”The Hand” by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette are similar in theme and setting. Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and Kate Chopin create the theme of obligatory love and the unhappiness it entails. Both stories illustrate the concealed emotions many women feel in their marriage yet fail to express them. The two stories take place in a sacred room of the house and both transpire in a brief amount of time. The differences between the two stories are seen through the author’s choice of characters in each story. In “The story of an Hour” Kate Chopin involves other characters in Mrs. Mallard’s life, whereas, “The Hand” deals with marriage and togetherness and only involves the husband and wife. Symbolism is

In the past many decades the definition of what a marriage means changed dramatically in some areas. For the author of both stories, Kate Chopin, she wanted the reader to get something out of the story. She likes to explore all types of themes in her stories such as, racism, the roles of women, and adultery. With these themes and messages she struggled to have most of her stories published. In many of her stories she passed along these messages through the manner of a marriage. In her short stories “The Story of an Hour” and “Desiree 's Baby” she showed just how different marriages could be as well as how similar they can be. Chopin portrays the lives of the main characters, Louise Mallard from “The Story of An Hour” and Desiree Aubigny

Written in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” is a story of a woman who, through the erroneously reported death of her husband, experienced true freedom. Both tragic and ironic, the story deals with the boundaries imposed on women by society in the nineteenth century. The author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had first-hand experience with the male-dominated society of that time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age (Internet). The similarity between Kate Chopin and her heroine can only leave us to wonder how much of this story is fiction and how much is personal experience.

In ‘The Story of an Hour’ the struggles and hardships of women in day to day life are conveyed. In ‘The Story of an Hour’, Chopin implies that marriage, even when

Kate Chopin is known for being criticized for empowering the subject of female sexuality and independence. In Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, it is placed in a time where men were known as being the head of the household while women were only in charge of raising the children and caring for the home. In the 1890s, women didn’t have so much power to themselves compared to today’s society where female empowerment is frequently encouraged. Chopin’s story narrates a sequence of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions that goes within the motion of the story. As she overcomes the sudden death of her husband, her emotion of grief soon turns into the sudden feeling of freedom, later on emerging into a strong independent woman.

Short stories are always very enjoyable to read. They are very concise but mostly have such a deep message resonating throughout the text that the reader is left pondering over an extension of the story to imagine the possible ending if they were novels instead. The works under consideration are meant to be compared because of their unique theme which reflects how two authors can write similar yet distinctive stories in different times. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant are two such short stories whose themes center around role of gender and marriage with special focus on the female characters. Even though there are similarities, there are also

In “The Story of an Hour”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “Trifles”, the authors all question the institution of marriage through the emerging theme of the oppression of women. In each of these works, women are shown trapped in confining marriages. While marriage is supposed to be seen as one of the most beautiful and perfect sanctities life has to offer, these authors portray it as more of a bittersweet agony that women are forced to endure. Chopin, Gilman, and Glaspell use a combination of symbolism and perspective in their literature to bring about this theme of female oppression. With this theme, the authors cause the readers to take a more feminist perspective and question the institution of marriage through the eye of the average housewife of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

When first reading Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour," one may not typically be surprised at its ending, write it off as one of those creepy "back from the dead" horror stories and forget about it. There is more to this story than simply horror. The author is making a very strong, however subtle, statement towards humanity and women's rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin shows how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a loving partnership.

“The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin was a story that was ironical yet profoundly deep. As a student I have been asked to read “a story of an hour” many times, and every time I’m surprised by how I enjoy it. People can read thousands of stories in their life times and only a handful will every stand out to them, stories that can draw out an emotion or spark a thought are the ones that will standout more. For me and “a story of an hour” the thought of freedom is what draws me the most as a teenage I would feel a deep and heavy cage that traps me in its invisible snarl. It is hard to explain why one feels that way many a times feelings are just a way of showing frustration. Mrs. Mallard I assume has many frustrations, and she associated her imprisonment with her marriage to her husband. In many versions Mrs. Mallard says he is not a mean man and she did have feelings. It is just an unexplainable blanket of depression that anyone can fall through. Like a cold or an unsuspecting wounds one cannot prevent what one does not know of until it becomes apparent .as the story progresses I add more of my own emotion and slowing I draw a bridge that connects me to the basic feel of the story. In the begging I am just an outsider looking in not yet connected with their feeling, then the realization hits one and so does mine, and finally when Mrs. Mallard freedom from her is taken yet it is not. This is what make the story believable the unchained freedom of feelings that is taboo for

Traditionally, women have been known as the less dominant sex. They have been stereotyped as being only housewives and bearers of the children. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. Kate Chopin‘s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, focus on a woman’s dilemma near the turn of the 19th century. Contradicting the “normal” or sad assumption of death, “The Story of an Hour” illustrates the significance of death representing freedom. The Story narrates about an hour of Louise Mallard’s life, as she tries to understand, and deal with her feelings of her husbands death.

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a short story of overwhelming events that all lead up to Louise Mallard’s death. Louise Mallard, who has heart problems, is told by her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richard that her husband has died in a railroad accident only to soon find out that her husband is alive and did not have any involvement in the accident. Josephine and Richard both know of Louise’s heart trouble so, “great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible” the news of Mr. Mallard’s death (1). Louise spent no time being in denial with the news; she immediately sobbed into her sister’s arms. Shortly after, Louise leaves her sister and Richard to be alone with her feelings in her room.

Everyone who reads a story will interpret things slightly different than the person who reads it before or after him or her. This idea plays out with most every story, book, song, and movie. These interpretations create conflict and allow people to discuss different ideas and opinions. Without this conflict of thought there is no one devoting time to debate the true meaning of a text. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tells about a woman who is informed of her husbands death, processes the emotions, and becomes content with this new status as an individual person – losing all the expectations that society expected her to live by within a marriage. This story however is written in a way that the reader has the final interpretation of the text. There are many different interpretations on not only the reason for the main character’s death, but also on the overwhelming emotions that she faces.

“The Story of The Hour” fully answers its title. It is a story about a woman living her last hour. Not so many things happen during that hour, but in contrast, many thoughts fly through main character’s head and a reader can form an accurate portrait of a woman’s life from these thoughts. Somebody tells her that her husband is dead. After that she dives into the whirl of thoughts regarding the impact of husband’s death on her future. Some facts or beliefs make this woman think that her husband’s death is a rather fortunate event. It all ends soon after that, when she sees her husband alive and dies. In “The Story of The Hour” Kate Chopin doubts mere foundation of a thing called “marriage” and suggests an alternative viewpoint based on early examples of a feminist movement.

Kate Chopin provides her reader with an enormous amount of information in just a few short pages through her short story, “The Story of an Hour.” The protagonist, Louise Mallard, realizes the many faults in romantic relationships and marriages in her epiphany. “Great care [is] taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin 168). Little do Josephine and Richards know, the news will have a profoundly positive effect on Louise rather than a negative one. “When she abandoned herself,” Mrs. Mallard opened her mind to a new way of life. The word usage shows that the protagonist experienced a significant change. This life wouldn’t be compromised by her partner’s will, which will enable her to live for

In Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour” focuses on the character Mrs. Mallard and how she comes to terms with the death of her husband. But the story also subtly suggests how woman were labelled as these domesticated creatures and controlled by societies principles in that time and age. This can be interpreted in the setting of the story and the characterization of the individuals within the story.