How Does Chopin Present The Women In The Story Of An Hour

For the wife, Louise Mallard, this was an awakening of a new life. This new life is cut short as the information that led her to believe this news turns our false. Kate Chopin reveals that even the desire for love is trumped by the need for freedom and independence, through her use of precise diction and syntax, and symbolism. (rewrite)

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a wonderful short story bursting with many peculiar twists and turns. Written in 1894, the author tells a tale of a woman who learns of her husband’s death, but comes to find pleasure in it. Many of the elements Kate Chopin writes about in this story symbolize something more than just the surface meaning. Through this short story, told in less than one thousand one hundred words, Kate Chopin illustrates a deeper meaning of Mrs. Mallard’s marriage with her husband through many different forms of symbolism such as the open window in the bedroom, Mrs. Louise Mallard’s heart trouble, and Chopin’s physical description of Mrs. Mallard.

Written by Kate Chopin in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” gives us a glimpse into the past where women were without many legal or fiscal rights. Men were the head of the household and took care of all “domestic affairs.” (128) In the first part of the story, Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband’s supposed death. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment. (128) As she shuts herself away into her room to contemplate the news she had just heard, there is a sense of fear. Perhaps fear of independence? She was waiting for it, fearfully. Throughout “The Story of an Hour” there is a central theme of freedom that Chopin presents but also a theme of oppression which has now seemingly been lifted by the death of Louise’s husband. Mrs. Mallard has long been oppressed and caged from her freedom as many women were back in the years of patriarchal code.

“The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, is a short story featuring a woman with a feeble heart, and the story centers on Louise Mallard and her reactions to her husband’s “death.” Throughout “The Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard experiences various emotions that leave her wondering how she truly feels about the news of her husband’s death. Before leaving her room and after hours of genuine depression, Louise Mallard realizes that her husband’s death may have granted her something extremely valuable: independence. Chopin created the story in an era where men predominantly controlled the lives of women. In “The Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard is expelled from the chains of her husband’s control. Although they had a content, loving

In the two stories of Chopin, both, Louise in The Story of An Hour, and Desiree in Desiree’s Baby, are two women who are struggling in their marriages. Both loved their husbands, but one wanted freedom, and one was forced to freedom. Each woman 's outcome satisfied no one, not even the reader. In The Story of An Hour,

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.

In addition to a restricted setting, Chopin expresses a theme of marriage confinement through the portrayal of Louise’s epiphany and her death that soon follows. As Mrs. Mallard is contemplating her feelings in regards to her husband’s passing, she comes to the eventual conclusion that she is indeed saddened but, “Then she realizes she has a newfound freedom: ‘There would be no one to live for during these coming years; she would live for herself’. She is ecstatic” (Mayer 94). As a result of Brently’s death, Louise has been released by the bonds of marriage and is now free to live as she sees fit, not by what her husband deems acceptable. It should be noted, however, that Mrs. Mallard is not in high spirits because her husband has died; she did in fact love him at times.

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” grabs its readers from the start and creates an unexpected twist at the end of the short story. Louise Mallard is given the news that her husband has died in a terrible train accident. To her surprise, he arrives home and “did not even know there had been one” (Chopin, 607). Upon the death of Louise who once believes she was a widow only to find that her husband is still alive, the confusion begins. The death of Louise is questioned by many critics as a state of shock, depression, and sadness. However, Mark Cunningham’s criticism of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” states that her death was instead a discovery of freedom from the physical strains of her marriage with her husband and societal views

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short yet complex story, describing Mrs Mallard’s feelings. It focuses on the unfolding emotional state of Mrs Mallard after the news of her husbands death, and has overflowing symbolism and imagery. It is an impressive literary piece that touches the readers’ feelings and mind and allows the reader to have a connection to Mrs Mallard’s emotional process. Although the story is short, it is complete with each word carrying deep sense and meaning. It is written in the 19th century, a time that had highly restrictive gender roles that forbade women to live as they saw fit. Mrs Mallard experiences something not everyone during this time has the luck to have; the happiness of freedom that the reader only

Although true to its name regarding length, “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin published in the eighteen-hundreds, is a profound story with a deeply tragic implication. At first glance, one may assume that this story is a short and not very complex read, and while that is partially true, “The Story of an Hour” has so much more to offer upon further analysis. The main character, Louise Mallard, is a woman who feels confined by her “love”, Brently Mallard, who acts as the opposing force in this story; and throughout the plot it divulges a tale of freedom, which inevitably gets torn from her very grasp. This alone is evidence enough that among the devices Chopin uses, irony and foreshadowing being two examples; irony is the most important.

In Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin tackles complex issues involved in the interplay of female independence through brief effective characterization of the supposedly widowed Louise Mallard in her last hour. Chopin utilizes symbolism, motif, and irony to suit the equally mixed story line and underlying concept in this story. The author portrays a sad portrait of a marriage and a very unique ending to be expected in the story. The world inside Mrs. Mallard’s mind is lively and well described by the narrator. Kate Chopin utilizes freedom as to be the main theme throughout the story. That one hour brings in freedom and new happiness to look forward for as she plots all this in her mind.

By isolating herself from everyone, one can suggest Chopin has assigned a special meaning to the door. Here, the door can serve as the boundary between dream and reality. In other words, outside the door is reality and that means Louise needs to behave in accordance with her assigned gender roles, which Friedan strongly criticized in her theory of gender role. On the other hand, the room that Louise locks herself in is a symbol of her dream because she sees “patches of blue sky,” “trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life,” and feels the “delicious breath of rain” in the dream (Chopin 524). Based on Chopin’s usage on words such as “blue,” “spring,” and “delicious” to describe the beautiful scenery that Louise obtains from freedom, they symbolize Louise is ready to start her new chapter of life without her husband and enjoys the freedom that she has longed for throughout her marriage. Moreover, these words create energetic and delightful atmospheres, which Chopin prepares readers to believe the protagonist, Louise, will have a happy ending. In fact, when Louise leaves her room, it symbolizes she wakes up from her dream and she needs to face the reality that her husband is still alive. By creating such misalignment, Chopin proves that women can

In her story, Chopin mainly pools the themes she uses to shape her plot from the gender issues in a historical context about women’s lives of the time. She links events of her own life to her “Story of an Hour”.

Kate Chopin’s impressive literary piece, The Story of an Hour, encompasses the story of an hour of life, an hour of freedom. We must seize the day and live our lives to the fullest without any constraints. This very rich and complete short story carries a lot of meaning and touches a readers feelings as well as mind. Throughout this piece much symbolism is brought about, which only helps us to understand the meaning and success of Kate Chopin’s work. Kate allows her reader to think and allows us to understand the meaning of her story with the different uses of symbols such as heart troubles, the armchair, the open window, springtime, and the calm face and goddess of victory. We eventually realize little by little that Mrs. Mallard

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.