Analysis Of The Story Of An Hour By Louise Mallard

At the beginning of Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour” the young, yet physically frail protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, is tactfully informed of her husband’s recent demise. Immediately after receiving the grim news, she makes it perfectly clear how she feels about the circumstances. Mrs. Mallard “…wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” and subsequently isolated herself inside of the privacy of her bedroom. Reflecting on the events alone, she displays a welling of despair; however Mrs. Mallard notices that, unlike her husband, the world outside of her bedroom window appears vivid and alive. When cogitating about her external observations, and dissolving her finite trepidation, Mrs. Mallard comes an epiphany:

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.

I n the Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin gives us the feeling that Mrs. Mallard is unhappy in the by telling us “she was presses down by physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul” (227). We learn right off that Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition and should be treated tenderly. When she heard the news of her husbands death, she was at first upset and distraught. She did not begin to feel better until she had time to sit and think, with “the delicious breath of rain was in the air” (227). Mrs. Mallard felt lonely and did not know what to do with herself anymore. She realized that there would no longer be someone there with her to be there when her life expired. She often had the feeling that life was too long and that the end would never come for her. That was a sign that Mrs. Mallard was a lonely and isolated woman. She was sitting there in the chair when it came to her in a sudden rush. That she is “Free! Body and soul free” (228). Mrs. Mallard knew then that life was not short after all. Life was short and she should live it to the fullest. She is now free to do as she pleases. Mrs. Mallard has a feeling of freedom, freedom form the loneliness and isolation that she has felt for a very long time. She is now free to be herself

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.

Anyone who receives notice of a loved ones death is never expected to take it lightly. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husbands “death” as gently as possible, and immediately she understands the enormous significance this loss will have on her life. Unlike many widow’s, her feelings of utter devastation do not last. Mrs. Mallard’s sobs of loss turn to cries of joy after she reflects upon her own character and discovers truths about her marriage.

Although some people react dramatically when facing a situation, after reflecting on their initial reactions, their previous emotions may be affected by a previously unknown feeling of freedom. In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, receives some sad news. Initially, Mrs. Mallard reacts with great sadness over the news of her husband’s death. As the story progresses, Mrs. Mallard begins to reflect on her previous emotions alone and begins to develop her true emotions towards her husband’s death. Finally, Mrs. Mallard realizes that the wonderful feelings of individual freedom overpower her feelings of sadness. Therefore, although Mrs. Mallard reacts with sadness over the death of her husband, Brently, after reflecting on her previous emotions, she discovers that the feelings of individual freedom overtake the relationship with her husband.

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.

In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.

In "The story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the complex character, Mrs. Mallard, In a most unusual manner. THe reader is led to believe that her husband has been killed in a railway accident. The other characters in the story are worried about how to break the news to her; they know whe suffers from a heart condition, and they fear for her health. On the surface, the story appears to be about how Mrs. Mallard deals with the news of the death of her husband. On a deeper level, however, the story is about the feeling of intense joy that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she realizes that she is free from the influences of her husband and the consequences of

In addition the intense desire for freedom is even more obvious in "The Story of an Hour." Mrs. Mallard's craving for freedom is so strong that when she is given the news of her husband's death, she is relieved that "there would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself" (Chopin 2). It seems as though she wants to live her own life without having her husband tell her what to do all the time.

Kate Chopin's `The Story of an Hour' is a short yet complex piece describing the feelings of Mrs Mallard. This story is overflowing with symbolism and imagery. The most prominent theme here is the longing for freedom. Chopin focuses on unfolding the emotional state of Mrs Mallard which can be separated into three stages: quickly moving to grief, through a sense of newfound freedom, and finally into the despair of the loss of that freedom.

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

In “The Story of an Hour” (1894), Kate Chopin presents a woman in the last hour of her life and the emotional and psychological changes that occur upon hearing of her husbands’ death. Chopin sends the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, on a roller coaster of emotional up’s and down’s, and self-actualizing psychological hairpin turns, which is all set in motion by the news of her husband’s death. This extreme “joy ride” comes to an abrupt and ultimately final halt for Mrs. Mallard when she sees her husband walk through the door unscathed. Chopin ends her short story ambiguously with the death of Mrs. Mallard, imploring her reader to determine the true cause of her death.

In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes to her readers a young woman’s response to her husband’s death, or at least his presumed death. The opinions readers will draw from this story will vary from person to person due to personal experiences. The experience and wisdom that I have gained through the trails and tribulations of my life help me to understand, relate, and even despise Mrs. Mallard’s character. On one hand, I feel pity for Mrs. Mallard. I think she felt trapped in a situation that she found to be inescapable. She felt lonely, restless, and did not know how to help herself. Yet, on the other hand, I do not feel sorry for

In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard is not allowed to demonstrate her feelings and is caught in a cold marriage, held around a pledge that traps her in a marriage of accommodation, than of affection. Imagery is utilized to show how Mrs. Mallard felt in her marriage. This happens when Mrs. Mallard learns of her significant other's demise and as opposed to lamenting, she makes the most of her opportunity. Chopin composes, "When she surrendered herself somewhat whispered word got away from her marginally separated lips". She said it again and again under her breath: "free, free, free!" (Chopin