Kate Chopin The Story Of An Hour

After Louise Mallard received the news of her husbands death from her sister and husband's friend, Richards, a new beginning was about to be embarked upon. She was upset about the news she took herself to her room where she demanded privacy. As Chopin pointed out "She would have no one follow." (138) It was at that moment she sat down to look outside her

     Relationships seem to be the favorite subject of Kate Chopin’s stories. As Margaret Bauer suggests that Chopin is concerned with exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (Bauer 146). In “The Story of an Hour” Chopin deals with the subject of marriage. She illustrates the influence of family alliance on individual freedom. According to Wohlpart,“The Story of an Hour” describes the journey of Mrs. Mallard against the Cult of True Womanhood as she slowly becomes aware of her own desires and thus of a feminine self that has long been suppressed”(Wohlpart 2). The Cult of True Womanhood in the XIX century included “purity” and “domesticity”. The former suggested that women must maintain their virtue. The latter – denied them their intellectual and professional capabilities (Papke 12). Being the victim of this Cult, Louise Mallard was a good example of a wife without “her own desires and feminine self”.

First of all, the story was little difficult to understand. The first impression of tone in the story was sadness and shocked but it was also a mysterious. For example, the first name of the main character, Mrs. Mallard, is not mentioned until towards the end of the story when her sister, Josephine, was begging her sister to open the door. “Louise, open the door! I beg, open the door – you will make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise?” (170). The first name is a mystery till the end of the story because Chopin wants to emphasize her characteristic as a weak housewife and the exciting moment when she is alone in her room. The most mysterious moment, the biggest one of the story, was what is it that really killed Mrs. Mallard? Was it a heart attack from joy of seeing her husband alive? Or was she horribly disappointed of not being free?

Emily Toth, writer of “Chopin thinks back through her mother,” points out that “Although Louise’s death is an occasion for deep irony directed at patriarchal blindness about women’s thoughts, Louise dies in the world of her family where she has always sacrificed for others.” This “patriarchal blindness” is quite true if you pay attention to the people around Louise. As Wang also writes, “Quite obviously, Brently Mallard, his friend Richards, and the doctors have never had the slightest clue about Louise’s self assertion, and they perhaps will never figure out what has really happened in Louise’s deep mind.” Louise’s death was ironic to the readers because everyone who reads the story knows the deeper reason of her death, whereas the people around her assumed it was “the joy that kills,” Brently Mallard’s false death. Josephine, Louise’s sister also falls into the conformity of the “patriarchal society”.

Within the past century, the United State and the world has undergone a dramatic revolution in the status and empowerment of women in society, as women search for and fight for selfhood. “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin questions social conventions concerning marriage and women’s independence. “Story of an Hour” illustrates the themes of the quest for identity and the subjugation from romantic love through the depiction of the open window, death, and “heart trouble,” symbolizing Mrs. Mallard’s transformation from her newfound freedom from the subjugation of marriage. Mrs. Mallard is portrayed sitting “facing the open window,” as she contemplates the death of her husband, and soon comes into the realization of the freedom she has attained.

The Story of an Hour reflects only one view of marriage. Many people are actually happy in their marriage and would grieve for years if their husband/wife were to die. But Louise is not one of them, she was unhappy in her relationship. Kate Chopin wrote about her grieving process to bring light to a time when these point of views were common, but repressed. She was just trying to highlight the problem.

Whenever Louise is delivered with the tragic news of her husbands death she breaks down and sobs; however, when she was alone to herself she could not contain her excitement of her independence but tries to “beat it back with her will.” Although she tries, she could not hold it in any longer and finally her lips start to whisper the words she was fighting back:“free.” Another way to provide evidence to prove that this story is conveying feminism is how Chopin indicates that Louise has “heart trouble.” This heart trouble is not only a physically issue, but an emotional one as well for Louise heart represented her true emotions toward her marriage. Being confined into a marriage where she does nothing besides house chores and has no say so of things, literally is a strain on her heart.

Chopin’s limited setting for “The Story of an Hour” exemplifies the limitations forced upon Louise Mallard and many women of her time. The entire plot unfolds in just a foyer, a staircase, and a bedroom. In one sense, this represents the confines of her life and the

Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. 15-16. Print.

But some readers find Louise’s grief to be so short that they doubt she ever loved Brently. Cold and heartless. Too happy too quickly to have truly loved him. However, they are not being quite fair. Not seeing the whole picture. Chopin paints of Louise. Her first response is not joy. Immediately, a storm of tears. Then off to her room to be alone. A close reading of that scene shows Louise fights the realization at first. Of her freedom. She is afraid. But then, as she realizes what it means for her life. She finds joy.

Freedom is trying to escape a situation you either don't want anymore or want to get away from. I chose freedom because, “The story of an hour” is about a woman who wants to be divorced from her husband or just wants to be away from him in general. In The Beginning of the story it say, “ It was her sister Josephine who told her, In broken sentences; to near her”. And when Mrs. Mallard heard she felt relieved. In the middle of the paragraph Mrs. Mallard goes to her room and shuts the door but, she opens her window and in the story this was exactly what was written, “ There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, room armchair.” This relates to freedom because the door she closed symbolizes her past that she wants to leave behind. The

On “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard was given the news that her husband, Mr. Bentley Mallard, was involved in a fatal railroad accident. The news was delivered to Mrs. Mallard by her sister Josephine as Mrs. Mallard had a heart condition and the. Mrs. Mallard reacted to the news of the fatality in a different way than most people would, she reacted with joy. She felt that she was free with the occurrence of her husband’s death. “She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” (Chopin) Josephine could not grasp into the thought of her joy during such a horrendous experience and thought she would become ill. The joy and the freedom she experienced caused her death. Mrs. Mallard believed that she could take care of herself

In discussing content, like all great authors, Chopin use symbols and metaphor to allow us to look within the subtext of their works. And many of these symbols and metaphors work to build upon their style, heavily composed of irony. As these are discussed, the themes of the obligations of women in marriage and illusions of independence, will come forward.

In the short story, Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin chronicles the short journey of a woman who has recently learned of the death of her husband from a railroad accident. Kate Chopin is known for her stories which revolve around women and the world from their perspective, and Story of an Hour is no exception. As a writer, Chopin utilizes and employs many rhetorical devices to add emotion and depth to her world. Though Story of an Hour is riddled with rhetorical devices in almost every sentence, the two that tend to stand out the most are the use of irony and foreshadowing.

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, shows a negative view on marriage for women by expressing a character that is ecstatic when her husband passes away after a traumatic railroad accident. In the story "The story of an hour, Richards and Josephine must tell Louise Mallard that her husband passed away in a traumatic railroad accident. Due to her heart trouble, Richards and Josephine have to break it to her very easily so she does not have heart attack. Instead of Louise being upset about him passing she becomes tremendously excited about all the freedom she now has, but everyone in the story thinks she is deeply upset. After a few minutes they hear a knock on the door and turn to find out, Mr. Mallard was alive. Louise with sadness and despair falls to the floor and dies.