Short Story analysis - The Kiss – Kate Chopin
The Kiss is a short story written by Kate Chopin. The Kiss is a short story about a woman called Nathalie (Nattie) scheming to marry a wealthy man which is Brantain. However, she is having an affair with Mr. Harvy. Kate Chopin uses different themes such as Money over love, Exploitation, and Acceptance. These themes are represented to show that you can’t always have two things at once. Kate Chopin uses these themes to show that certain situations can make a person accept that they cannot always have two relationships at once. Kate Chopin uses a variety of techniques throughout the story to highlight the idea of the three themes. The techniques Chopin used were imagery, irony and simile.
Firstly, the theme of Money over Love is first introduced in The Kiss through the character Miss Nathalie. Miss Nathalie is a pretty and beautiful girl who manipulates people in order to get what she wants. Nathalie is in a relationship with Brantain who is not so good looking however, she is dating him because he is a wealthy man. As Nathalie and Brantain are sitting in the dark room speaking about going to a reception Mr. Harvy enters the room and kisses Miss Nathalie on the lips. The Dark room is a symbol that symbolises the relationship Nathalie has with Harvy. Kate Chopin first uses simile throughout the short story when Nathalie explains to Brantain about the kiss, "Mr. Harvy is an intimate friend of long standing. Why, we have always been
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” allows one to explore many ironic instances throughout the story, the main one in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate the struggles of reaching personal freedom and trying to be true to yourself to reach self-assertion while being a part of something else, like a marriage. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husband, yet Chopin uses several ironic situations and certain symbols to criticize the behavior of Mrs. Mallard during the time of her “loving” husband’s assumed death.
Kate Chopin and Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette create the theme of obedient love and the discontentment in life that is to follow. This is important in both stories because both Mrs. Mallard and the wife in “The Hand” are virtuous, submissive wives who doubt their marriage and question their love for their significant other. Although the wife in “The Hand” has only been married for a short period of time, about two weeks, she comes to the realization that she has made a mistake in getting married as an adolescent. The wife starts out excited about her new life to someone she barely knows but loves. As she lays in bed unable to sleep, she notices and admires his features in great detail. “To herself she also praised his mouth, full and likable, his skin the color of pink brick, and even his forehead, neither noble nor broad, but still smooth and unwrinkled” (Colette 275). This feeling does not last long before her view of him changes to that of disgust as she notices his hand take on a “vile, apelike appearance” (Colette 275). Mrs. Mallard has been married for quite some time and has lived her life through her husband. She endures an obviously unsatisfying marriage that is defined by “a powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women
The short story Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin provides a sobering depiction of how the dark forces of prejudice and social hierarchy tore apart a plantation owning family in the state of Louisiana. Desiree’s character is that of a lady who carries the burden of being submissive to a domineering husband, a role she keeps until the very end of the narrative. Desiree is portrayed as an agent of light so to speak throughout the plotline but is seriously blinded by her doglike allegiance to her husband Armand, who is in essence her master and her livelihood. The struggle for female independence is a signature theme in a number of Chopin’s works and was a struggle for women in the South during this
Freedom should be enjoyed ,because it can be gone in a flash . Both Kate Chopin’s short story “Story Of An Hour “ and “ An Obstacle”, both story and poem discuss women's freedom and both put a message in their writings “ An Obstacle “ shows a women trying to pass but a prejudice and when she ignored it and she was free to pass. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story Of An Hour” tells the story of a woman called Mrs,Mallard learns the painful truth that her husband has died. Slowly she starts to realize that she will have gained more freedom but her husband comes back; she tragically realize that she won’t be granted her freedom. Although “ The Story Of An Hour” and “ An Obstacle “ use different metaphors, actually, both use chronological order to show the readers how fast or long their problems might last.So the story and poem of kate chopin and charlotte perkins both show a form of freedom in their writing.
The story of an hour by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to her husband’s death. In this short story, Chopin portrays the complexity of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as she is saddened yet joyful of her loss. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” argues that an individual discover their self-identity only after being freed from confinement. The story also argues that freedom is a very powerful force that affects mental or emotional state of a person. The story finally argues that only through death can one be finally freed.
Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a brilliant short story of irony and emotion. The story demonstrates conflicts that take us through the character’s emotions as she finds out about the death of her husband. Without the well written series of conflicts and events this story, the reader would not understand the depth of Mrs. Mallard’s inner conflict and the resolution at the end of the story. The conflict allows us to follow the emotions and unfold the irony of the situation in “The Story of an Hour.”
In the short story Désirée’s Baby, by Kate Chopin, surprise plays a very important role. Although the story has a surprise ending it can still have a second look with interest. While rereading the story I look for the details, which foreshadow the ending, that were missed the first time reading the story. But when I started to look for hints of foreshadowing I found that Chopin is doing more than tell us a story about a couple. She is trying to convey a message to the reader. Désirée’s Baby is like an intricate Aesop’s fable, or a fable for adults. Also an analysis of the characters helps us understand the story and it’s meaning. The main character, which presents the conflict in the story, is Armand Aubigny. To fully understand the story
In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes the series of emotions a married woman with a heart condition, Mrs. Mallard, endures after hearing about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard. She assumes that she will be a mournful widow, but she ends up silently rejoicing. It turns out that she was not happily married and the thought of freedom from her attachments of marriage gave her
Throughout the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses imagery and symbolism with several different objects to further the theme and plot. Since the use of symbolism helps bring depth to the story without focusing on too much detail, readers can acquire a more complex idea on what they believe the author tries to convey throughout the story. As Chopin executes an underlying message behind her signs, she also reveals new traits and meanings of her character, Mrs. Mallard. Despite Chopin’s use of several symbols to advance the storyline, the open window exemplifies not only Mrs. Mallard’s realization of her new-found freedom, but her hope and happiness as well.
Thank you to all the students, professors, and my coach for your support, encouragement, and feedback. As I previously stated in my introductory post, I love read but hate to write, which was probably not the best words to say entering an English class, but with your support, not only have I made it through this course, but I have also enjoyed the journey.
This essay will focus on the short story by Kate Chopin and its use of symbols, setting and characters. Desiree’s baby was perhaps one of the best stories I’ve ever read. Analyzing it was not easy at all. Its use of symbols was very hard to comprehend. At first, it doesn’t make sense. But as you think critically, all the symbols, and setting and the characters in this literature plunge together in one amazing story.
Many things one does or does not do in life are based on perception; our perception of someone, their perception of us, and even our perception of ourselves. John Moore says, “your opinion is your opinion, your perception is your perception–do not confuse them with “facts” or “truth.” Wars have been fought and millions have been killed because of the inability of men to understand the idea that everybody has a different viewpoint (Quotations for Martial Artists, John Moore, p 1).” In Kate Chopin 's A Respectable Woman, perception is a major theme; for example, Mrs. Baroda 's perception of her husband’s friend, Gouvernail, shifts drastically throughout the short story. Chopin’s main theme of perception is displayed well because of her use of literary devices such as imagery, setting and dialogue; through these devices, Chopin reveals Mrs. Baroda’s feelings and thoughts, based on the way she perceives Gouvernail before, during and after meeting him for the first time; this paper will discuss the literary devices and how Kate Chopin uses them to portray themes of freedom, identity, desire, as well as perception.
There are myriad levels of symbolism which Chopin invokes in order to express the principle theme of this work. The very fact that the protagonist of the story, Mrs. Mallard, learns that her husband has died symbolizes the fact that she is now free from his will and influence upon her life. However, Chopin chooses to express this notion most efficaciously by expressing Mrs. Mallard's newfound liberty or what she believes is her newfound liberty through the symbolism of spring, as the
Kate Chopin’s short story “Two Portraits”, tells about a woman named Alberta. The first story is about Alberta the Wanton, who is a captivating prostitute that is going on a downward spiral towards aging and alcoholism. In the second story, Alberta is a nun who is the most saintly of all the women in the convent. Chopin incorporates many features like dimensionalism and environment to draw a contrast between the two Albertas. As it is the author's intention to examine contrary states of innocence and experience to show the ways that society divides women rather than uniting them.
“‘I’ve stopped kissing women; it’s dangerous’” (Chopin 22). What makes kissing women so dangerous? Specifically, what makes kissing Nathalie so dangerous? Nathalie is a character in the short story “The Kiss” by Kate Chopin. The story is divided into three scenes. In the first scene, a clear love triangle is established between a wealthy but rather insignificant man named Brantain, a bold and confident man named Harvy, and the manipulative Nathalie who wants both men. The final scene ultimately ends with Harvy rejecting a kiss from Nathalie and Nathalie married to Brantain. In the story, Chopin chooses to withhold a lot of information from the reader. There is little to no back story for each character, there are narrative gaps between each scene, and there is quite a bit of indirection within the scenes. However, while reading the piece, the narrative gaps seem to be insignificant to the reader. Kate Chopin’s stylistic choices in the short story “The Kiss” manipulate the reader in order to create the illusion that the reader is getting the full story.