Literary Analysis- the Story of an Hour Essay

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.

Mallard’s emotions towards the “death” of her husband because of outside inspiration that took apart in her epiphany. When she first discovered her new emotions and did not know that they were tied to how she had felt in her marriage, she had questioned what she was actually feeling “What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air” (Chopin 476).The emotion that she had of the liberation her husbands “death” gave her was reaching out to her from the window and the forethought of a life where she lives as her own

These thoughts were a bit suspicious and frightful to acknowledge. As Mrs. Mallard sits next to her window she begins to contemplate what feelings are emerging from her, “There was something coming to her and she was wanting for, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name” (Chopin 653). This depicts the anticipation of change that is about to come into her life. Chopin describes it not as a physical object, but something she internally knows when it fact it blossoms into a new realization. With all these perplexed emotions she encounters from looking out the window to “patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds” (Chopin 653), these thoughts become the factor of releasing herself from her forbearing attitude into the new impression of individualism and

Mrs Mallard's awkward attitude after learning of her husband's death establishes an irony- somebody who is really happy in marriage will not enjoy nature in peace and have mixed emotions; the person will feel genuine grief upon hearing of the death of her husband. Here, Mrs Mallard's reaction portrays the extent to which her thirst for freedom was strong. Kate Chopin allows us to visualise the moment that Mrs Mallard is able to shed the bondage of marriage: "free, free, free!." She feels liberated through her husband's death. Much emphasis is laid on her joy upon finding freedom- "there would be no one to live for." The author also points out that "she knew that she would weep again.....folded in death." This only highlights the fact that it is not an expression of love but seems more like a duty that

Mallard struggles to come to terms with her husband’s death while also finding out what it means for her future. In the beginning Mrs. Mallard is told of her husband’s death “with the inability to accept its significance.” meaning that his death means more and will affect her life in more ways than the obvious(38). As she processes her grief Mrs. Mallard realizes that his death will give her an escape from under his control. Chopin says Mrs. Mallard is “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.

Mallard, prior to the news of the alleged death of her husband, has never truly considered a life guided by emotional impulse. Chopin was alive in the late nineteenth century, and during that time, a woman was expected to be submissive to the man in her life, primarily her husband (1). Because of this, the shock that accompanied the news of Brently Mallard’s death causes an extreme change in Louise that allows her to see herself in an entirely new way (Jamil 5). In the hour that she sits in her bedroom alone, she decides “there would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself”

The clearing of the sky, or the passing of Mr. Mallard, leaves Mrs. Mallard free from oppression. “It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought” (Chopin 1). The gaze out the window was more than a pleasant stare. It was the comprehension of freedom and the new life Mrs. Mallard can evoke for herself. She will no longer live for anyone but

Mallard demonstrates a distinct character in a state of finding closure with her emotions. Chopin explains, “She would have no one follow her” because she wants the reader to know that a normal woman would seek the comfort of family. Her odd actions of locking herself in the room show the true thoughts hidden internally. After hearing of Mr. Mallard’s passing, Chopin hints, “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.” Chopin’s unambiguous quote explains that she is not like “many women” for she wept in “wild abandonment” with no denial of any sort. She did not question if her family was certain if Mr. Mallard was dead or how the death had occurred. Her quick acceptance is not the battle she was fighting, but the start of a

In the opening, Chopin presents us with the immediate fact that Mrs.Mallard, “was afflicted with a heart trouble”(179), and that “great care was taken to break to her… the news of her husband’s death”(179). Chopin leaves room for discussion by not directly telling us what exactly is wrong with Mrs.Mallard’s heart, which in turn, allows it to be interpreted and applied to different speculations throughout the course of the story. Did Mrs.Mallard truly die of heart disease? Or did the arrival of her once “dead” husband extinguish the joyful flame brought on by her previously acquired independence? The main speculation of this theme is that by feeling the euphoria of becoming independent and in control of her life, Mrs.Mallard has ultimately led herself into her untimely death once laying eyes on her returned husband and having that independence stripped from her once again.

She illustrates the issue first through Mr. Mallard’s death that creates his wife’s mixed feelings of grief and happiness (Chopin 429). According to Mrs. Mallard, the positive part of the story resides in the fact that she acquires her freedom and self-esteem back long years after engaging in her marriage which she indirectly describes as a state of imprisonment with a person she has to be submissive to. The irony comes towards the end with the narrator mentioning “a joy that kills” (Chopin 429). When Mr. Mallard actually crosses the door, Chopin describes the wife so shocked by his return that she immediately surrenders to death from desolation and despair (Chopin 429). His sudden yet unexpected return washes away the brief moment of freedom she dreams of in front of the window, that leads her to take the initiative to strive for it after his death. Frustrated and determined to make a difference, Chopin’s intent for creating such a tragic story resides once again in her will to relate her personal struggles from being “restrained under Catholic dogma at home” (Snodgrass) to her writings about the “revolt against double standard” (Snodgrass). She also wishes to continue supporting women of her time by showing the struggles in their battles for freedom and independence from men’s

Upon seeing him, she collapsed, and “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease.” Here lies the other end of the independent spectrum that Chopin cleverly displays at the end of her story. When Mallard’s life appears to be heading in an optimistic direction, Chopin adds an interesting plot twist that enforces a different outlook on

Chopin’s protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, clearly reflects that which has transcended to an irreconcilable conflict. The evident exuberance she felt by the death of her husband is considered crass and in poor taste, yet the embrasure of Death exemplifies the understanding that Mrs. Mallard has her desire

Chopin uses the imagery of life to convey Mrs. Mallard’s change of perspective after learning of her husband’s death. Although at first she does not consciously perceive the change, she focuses on the signs of life outside her window. She sees “the tops of trees … aquiver with the new spring life,” smells “the delicious breath of rain,” and hears the sounds of people and animals going through their day. These perceptions symbolize the beginning of her new life free from her husband.

Chopin’s short work is masterfully interspersed with clues to the subtext of her work. One set of metaphors which should be more often discussed is the freedom with which Brently Mallard is able to enjoy. The text discusses both the train and the telegram, avenues to communicate with outside worlds. It is worth noting that while these things are readily available to Brently, they are not to Mrs. Mallard.

Mrs.Mallard, the main character of the short story “The Story of an Hour” experiences inner conflict as a result of her struggle to make decisions and understand her thoughts which force major parts of her life to change. tOnce the news of Mr.Mallard’s death is passed on to a wife who was presumed to mourn, Mrs.Mallard discovers and contemplates on new forbidden thoughts and decisions which cause her internal conflict. “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (Chopin 1). At first, Mrs.Mallard grieves