Critical Analysis Of The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of An Hour,” emotionally illustrates the hour in which a young woman with a heart condition finds out her husband has been killed in a mining accident. In the beginning, she grieves over the loss of her husband, but she soon becomes relieved and joyous when she realizes that she is now free. However, her husband returns after having been far from the mines for the day and her heart problems return and she dies. Kate Chopin was an early feminist author and was well acquainted with death after losing many siblings as a child, her husband (who left her a large amount of debt), and her mother with whom she was very close. As a means of therapy, Chopin took up writing and her ideas about feminism and death are very clear. In “The Story of An Hour,” Chopin uses multiple symbols and an allusion to a Greek god to illustrate and support the idea that male oppression harms the souls and lives of women.

The story, “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin who, according to the editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis in 1851, effectively shows how much women yearn for freedom through the description of a woman’s dramatic psychological change in one hour, as well as the usage of symbolism and irony. The story begins with the mention of Mrs. Mallard’s “heart trouble” (74), which has a dual meaning. Evidently, it tells readers that she not only literally has heart condition, but also suffers from her unsatisfied marriage, being that she doesn’t love her husband from her heart. When she learns that her husband is reported dead, “she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild

The story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, written in 1894, is about a woman gaining independence and experiencing a new freedom, due to the death of her husband. The topic of the story was rather scandalous at the end of the 19th century. Women had no control over their property and weren’t allowed to request a divorce.

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin has many different analyses. One analysis being that the main character Louise Mallard, truly begins to feel freedom over her life. Critics often argue about Louise Mallard’s humanity and consider her a bad person because of her reaction to her husband’s death. Chopin only describes this brief hour of Louise’s life, leaving the readers in the unknown about her marriage with her husband. Given the literary evidence “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination” (The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin) you can see that Louise almost despised her marriage, but why? In this essay we will look at different ways to prove Louise Mallard was a good person just in the wrong marriage, whether it was a bad marriage, or she just felt trapped.

Freedom and control are concepts everyone wishes to possess, but some struggle to obtain them. For example in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin the main character is told that her controlling and repressive husband has died in a train accident. At first she sobs like a small child and hides in her room, but she soon realizes she is free to live a life for herself. With her newfound happiness, she returns downstairs right as her husband, alive and well, is walking through the front door. Mrs. Mallard is said to have died “of a joy that kills” (qtd. in Meyer 16). Another example of a struggle to obtain freedom is in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. The main character, Emily, is controlled by her father. After her father passes away she is desperate for a loving relationship. Her last

Mrs Mallard, a kind, older lady, had a severe heart disease. The element of surprise, if not executed right, could kill her. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin the element of time and surprise create an element that other authors struggle to do. In this paper, I will discuss the tone of the way the family broke the news of Mr. Mallard 's death to Mrs. Mallard. Whether the news was bad or good, how it was broken to Mrs. Mallard could have killed her. In the end it did

“The Story of an Hour” depicts the telling of a spouse’s death, and how the wife reacted to the information. Marriage to most in the 21st century is how one shows the greatest extent of their love. However, to myself marriage is nothing but a piece of paper people sign, that gives another a right to half their earnings. Marriage does not quantify love. “The Story of an Hour” shows that although the main character was married, it was not what equated her love or happiness. Marriage is a contract, not an act of affection. People should not deem marriage as the sole way someone shows their love.

Upon reading the letter, Armand froze. Tears are running down his face as he stands, immobilized by the realization of what he’s done. He ruined everything for himself. His wife, his poor baby; they’re all gone. Guilt overflows his soul as he quivers in shock, the letter falling out of his hand like a bird shedding a feather - slowly, while also losing a part of himself.

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber both captured my interest from the very beginning. These short stories represent gender roles and marriage. They both are about married couples with controlling mates. “The Story of an Hour” is about a young married woman and how she reacts to the news of her husband dying in a train accident. The story takes place in the home of the young woman, Mrs. Mallard. Several things took place within an hour but “the joy that kills” (Clugston, 2010) made me more interest to find out what was happening to Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard died of “joy that kills”

There are two types of relationships. A healthy relationship, where both individuals feels happiness, security and fulfillment. These individuals choose whom they are in love with and want to spend the rest of their lives together. Then there is the other type of relationships where an individual in the relationship feels trapped and unable to escape to feel that sense of freedom. Chopin illustrates in “The Story of an Hour” about Mrs. Mallard not having any women rights and how she feels trapped in her marriage as well as the reaction she has when she realizes her unhappy marriage comes to an end. For an individual to feel trapped in a relationship and is unable to escape from it, is intolerable and toxic. This can lead to an unfulfilling life.

Analysis of “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a deep and intriguing short story. The author of the story was an independent woman who lived in the 19th century. The story is about a young woman who seemed to become free from marriage responsibilities when her husband died.

The story of an hour is a great literary work because of the main characters, setting, and vocabulary. These three components put together are what make the story very attention grabbing to the audience. The main characters are what make the illusion of the story very fascinating. Also, the setting is what creates the visual for people to get amazed and to take in to thought and imagine it. Lastly, the vocabulary is what ties it all in leaving the reader intrigued by the book.

How trapped can one person be? Living in the United States it is engrained in us that we have a constitutional right to freedom. In the Story of an Hour the author Kate Chopin shows that freedom is not true in all sense of the word. Compared to other countries we are blessed, we have freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of assembly. Kate Chopin’s character Louise Mallard was not totally free. There were many aspects of Louise’s life where she felt she had no freedom.

Everyone has lost a loved one or has seen and experienced a situation in which another person has lost their loved one. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, published in 1894, details that moment in a woman's life when her world is shattered and the process of self-consciousness begins. Louise Mallard, wife of Richard Mallard, a successful businessman. Louise Mallard is a woman ahead of her time, by the standards of the 1890’s she should be happy. Her husband loves her; she herself acknowledges that he “had never looked save with love upon her.”(Chopin, p.477) In the 1890’s women depended on their husbands financially. There was an unspoken rule that the man was the powerful one, the wife would conform to the husband. A woman in this era lived a very restricted life. They were expected to cater to the needs of their house and husband. Life was about the husband and what he wanted. Louise was one of those wives bound by the norm of marriage in the 1890’s. Louise did love her husband, some of the time anyway. When Louise finds out about the death of her husband, her reaction is not what one would expect.

“The Story of an Hour” was written by Kate Chopin in 1894 and it shows how an individual can have personal conflict in their life without being aware that it even exists until certain situations arise (Kirszner & Mandel, 2012). The story consists of different elements that provide the reader with the necessary facts to make it the best short story that we have read in class this week. A couple of those factors include the conflict that exists within Mrs. Mallard personally and the symbolism that is needed to explain her emotions. The author’s creative ability to provide a short story with such detail gives the reader a sense of what this character felt during this emotional period. While the main character was mourning the death of her husband, the grieving process was being overshadowed by the freedom that she thought she had been given.