Analysis Of The Story Of An Hour And Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Birthmark

Paul Newman once said, “People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked” (74). There is no such thing as the perfect relationship, however, being involved in a healthy relationship is essential for a person to feel valued, safe, and happy. Unfortunately, in the situation of Kelly Sundberg’s personal essay “It Will Look Like a Sunset,” and Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of An Hour,” include extreme examples of unhealthy relationships. The essay “It Will Look Like a Sunset,” shares painful experiences of Sundberg’s physical and emotional abusive relationship with her husband Caleb, while “The Story of an Hour,” shares a rare reaction of a married woman, Louise Mallard, who explores her emotions cautiously when hearing about the death of her husband. Each woman faces their own prison created by their husbands. The two marriages represent the figurative meaning of doors being locked in a marriage. Both pieces of literature convey the theme of confinement by using the literary devices of foreshadowing, imagery, and conflict.

When her husband is killed in a train accident Mrs. Mallard cries, but for different reasons than would be expected. She is sad for her husband’s death, but, moreover, she is overcome with joy. For now she is free. No one recognizes her true emotions because women fall apart when their spouse dies; it’s required. Marriage is portrayed as a life sentence. "She said it over and over again under her breath: ‘free, free, free!' Her pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body"(1). Mrs. Mallard was relieved that her husband died for she thought her sentence was over. When she realized that he was still alive, and therefore she was still committed to the marriage, she died from the shock and horror of being trapped.

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

Marriage unites two people for better or worse, in sickness and health, until death they do part. In earlier times, some people might say wedding vows were taken more seriously; other say divorce was different back in the day. Looking at Katie Chopin and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who both exemplify martial vows in their short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Birthmark.” It is clear in one instance, it was because divorce was different but then on the other hand the stories demonstrate the seriousness of the wedding vows. However, these stories express a husband-dominated relationship, in which the men possess ideals such as possession, perfection, and being all knowing.

Mallard is unsatisfied with the limitations of her marriage, however, like Desiree, she is submissive and believes that the end of her duties as a wife will come at the death of her husband and her freedom will be given to her. Also, she experiences little or no feelings because of her marriage. This is shown when Mrs. Mallard, after hearing of her husband’s death, cries, but ironically she senses a moment of euphoric pleasure at the awaiting freedom in her remaining life. “She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” Mrs. Millard is now aware of things that were not noticeable before such as: the beginning of spring, patches of blue sky through clouds, the twittering of sparrows and the smelling of the pending rain, which may signify the nature of her freedom. Mrs. Mallard would now be able to live her life outside the home and find her identity.

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

Mrs. Mallard is a woman that is suffering in marriage. We realize that she was not very optimistic about her married life. The night prior to the "death" of her husband, she had quietly prayed for her life to be short. She had reached a point of disillusionment and would gladly welcome death as an option out of the marriage. When she learns that her husband had perished in the train accident, she first reacts by

Mallard’s sad reaction, after she ponders on her initial emotions by herself, she learns that the relationship with her husband becomes irrelevant to the wonderful feelings of individual freedom. Initially, Mrs. Mallard grieves upon hearing her husband’s death. As the story progresses, Mrs. Mallard begins to develop her true emotions towards the death of her husband after reflecting in her room alone. Finally, Mrs. Mallard’s initial feelings of sadness are overpowered by her discovery of the feelings of freedom. In conclusion, although individuals may react dramatically when facing a sad situation, their emotions may change as a result of the discovery of a previously unknown feeling of

When she hears the news of her husband 's death, Mrs. Mallard 's obliviousness to the beauty of life breaks down under the powerful impact of emotion. Until this moment, Mrs. Mallard hardly thinks it worthwhile to continue her existence; as the narrator of the story says, "It was only yesterday [Mrs. Mallard] had thought with a shudder that life might be long" (194). Her life until this point seems devoid of emotion, as the lines in her face "besp[ea]k repression" (193). Upon hearing the news, her sorrow gushes out in a torrent: "She wept at once with sudden, wild abandonment" (193). The narrator points out, however, that Mrs. Mallard is not struck, as "many women" have been, by "a paralyzed inability" to accept the painful sense of loss (193). On

As human beings, we are NOT perfect! It is part of our nature to be

When reading a story, people do not often think about how much it might relate to another story they have read in the past. In “The Birthmark” Georgiana simply wants her unique birthmark removed from her face. Similarly, in “Barbie Doll” the unnamed young lady wants her nose and legs removed. In both of these stories the reader can see that these women are chasing society’s idea of perfection. The short story “The Birthmark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the poem “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy have almost the exact same theme because both of these short works of fiction are about a woman that is influenced by her peers to become

Mrs. Mallard had, "in that brief moment of illumination"(15), stumbled upon a truth: she was now her own person, free from the confines of her husband. She had loved her husband, "sometimes"(15), but that didn't matter: "What could love ....count for in the face of theis possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! THE theme of the story unfolds at this point: Mrs. Mallard, through the death of her husband, is able to experience the joy of the realization

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark," there are many views on the need for science and its advances. Hawthorne's protagonist, Aylmer, illustrates his own personal assessment of science. The story is based on the idea that science can solve all of humanities ills and problems. Hawthorne believes that science is overrunning life. Aylmer is consumed by his passion of overtake Mother Nature. The story shows how Aylmer's passion leads to not only his downfall but that of his wife Georgiana as well. The belief that science can solve and do anything is one of ignorance because it totally disregards the human element of spirituality.

(654) It is quite apparent that Mrs. Mallard was struggling to fight back certain feelings about her husband?s supposed death. Although she is at first sad, she slowly begins to realize that the death of her husband can mean a number of great things for her. As the story progresses Mrs. Mallard eventually solves her internal conflict by accepting her husband?s death as a gift.

Although “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in the mid-1800s, its themes and ideas are still a part of society today. The 19th century was a time of change, just as this, the millennium, is a time of great change. Hawthorne’s ideas about science, beauty, and life still play a major part in our lives, despite many improvements. Even today, people try to play “God” and change things that nature has put in place. It’s human curiosity; how much can be changed, how many things can be perfected? The themes in this short story-- religion, gender, and science--were relevant in Hawthorne’s day, and still are many years later. The theme of religion is hidden in the desire to erase