Kate Chopin's "The story of an Hour" is a short yet complex piece describing the feelings and Mrs. Mallard. The most prominent theme of this story is the longing for freedom. Chopin focuses on unfolding the emotional state of Mrs. Mallard which can be separated in out three stages: quickly moving to grief, through a sense of newfound freedom, and finally into despair of the loss of that freedom. In the beginning of “Story of an Hour” the scene opens up and we are introduced to Mrs. Mallard who has been told that her husband has dead in a horrible train accident. At the same time, she is introduced as a woman who suffers heart trouble. One of the main cause of heart disease is absence of free blood circulation and I think this deficit is result …show more content…
Mallard is up in her room because she merely wants time for herself. Everybody thinks that Mrs. Mallard is in sorrow but she is taking new things coming to her. She is standing in front of her window and everything around her is in full bloom, spring has arrived. Mrs. Mallard is now being reborn. She is now free, free from the shadow of her husband. Winter has now died and spring has now been born. In some sense the same applies for Mrs. Mallard the winter being her husband has now died and spring being her new found freedom has been born. Finally, Mrs. Mallard finally opens the door and walks out like a goddess of victory but she shortly faces harsh reality that she never wants to be run. Brently Mallard is waiting for her. Her bright hope is just about to turns to despair. At this point, Mrs. Mallard collapses and dies of what the doctor’s later say was of a heart disease. Her freedom had now been taken away from her in a matter of an hour. I think that it was very ironic for them to use the word “joy” in the last sentence of this story, because it was actual joy that she felt when she realized her husband was dead, and pain so great that killed her when she saw him walk through the door. Mrs. Mallard thought that she could set free fromher husband death but ironically, she finally sets free from her own
Mallard is unsatisfied with the limitations of her marriage, however, like Desiree, she is submissive and believes that the end of her duties as a wife will come at the death of her husband and her freedom will be given to her. Also, she experiences little or no feelings because of her marriage. This is shown when Mrs. Mallard, after hearing of her husband’s death, cries, but ironically she senses a moment of euphoric pleasure at the awaiting freedom in her remaining life. “She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” Mrs. Millard is now aware of things that were not noticeable before such as: the beginning of spring, patches of blue sky through clouds, the twittering of sparrows and the smelling of the pending rain, which may signify the nature of her freedom. Mrs. Mallard would now be able to live her life outside the home and find her identity.
Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Mallard is overwhelmed with grief, which swiftly turned into hope. Mrs. Mallard’s reaction upon receiving the news of her husband 's death is considered to be unusually by society’s standards. In the beginning of the story it is revealed that Mrs, Mallard suffers heart problems; however, when it is revealed that her husband is dead her heart is relieved. She was thrilled that she was able to be her own person again. It was revealed through her reflection on her marriage that she “had loved him - sometimes” (16). Mrs. Mallard overcame is quick to overcome her grief after the realization that she has been set free of her horrible marriage. As a married woman, Mrs. Mallard is miserable, but as a widow she feels a sense of relief that she is free of her marital vows. At the end of the story Mrs. Mallard dies of a failing heart which it ironic because typically a woman would be filled with joy to find out
In the psychological lens, the brain is separated into three different parts. The three parts are the superego, the ego, and the id. The superego is the way society expects you to react to different problems and situations. The ego is the conscious decisions that you make. The id is your unconscious desires.
First, Chopin explores situational irony in “The Story of an Hour” by calling attention to Mrs. Mallard’s heart problems. At the beginning of the story, Chopin pens that “…Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (547). Knowing of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition, her family takes great care to tenderly deliver the news of her husband’s death due to the railroad exit. Her family fears the tragic news will send Mrs. Mallard into a frenzy, which would intensify her heart condition. Ironically, the news of her husband’s death does not affect her heart condition, but the news that he is still alive causes the heart attack that kills her.
Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour" presents a young married woman named Mrs. Louise Mallard, who has a "heart trouble"(26). Suddenly, Mrs. Mallard receives a news that her husband, Brently Mallard has died in a train accident. She weeps and ascends to her room. Within a short period of time, she is able to fully come to terms with her husband's sudden death. Instead of mourning over his death, she feels joy and excitement. She can now act as herself and has the freedom she is longing for. Ironically, her husband comes home alive and she dies of the realization that her freedom and identity will be taken away again. The imageries that Chopin uses help the readers imagine Mrs. Mallard's excitement and the new life waiting for her.
The story continues to reveal a conflict Mrs. Mallard may have had in the relationship with her husband. Though she speaks about him lovingly and knows that he loved her, there is something deeper that is brought to the surface in
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
"The story of an Hour" is a bright amazing piece by Kate Chopin, which realistically represents feelings and thoughts of women of that times. Mrs. Mallard is a main character, who received a news about her husband tragic death. She has a heart issue, which concerns and stresses her family about her reaction. "It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences;" (1) It is obvious, that Josephine is so emotional and nervous, so confused, that cannot find proper words.
Mallard, they get the idea that she is a small, frail woman who would do nothing more than rest for most of the day. Upon receiving news that her husband has died, it would be expected that she may cry or sob. However, after a brief moment of mourning, she begins to feel excited about her husband’s death. “Free! Body and soul free!”( ). At first, someone may be startled by this response, as it appears that she has no reason to be acting this way, but if you look between the lines, you realize why. Ms. Mallard was a woman who felt trapped in her marriage. She craved freedom and was never to reach it until the death of her husband. When she first feels it, she likens it to something vial or sinister, but soon after she compares it to an elixir of eternal life. While this reaction appears to be extreme, it is important to realize that divorce was not an accepted practice at the time of this story. This means that she was essentially stuck in her marriage until one of them died, which is why she was so untroubled by the demise of her
The symbols and imagery used by Kate Chopin's in “The Story of an Hour” give the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard’s new life appearing before her through her view of an “open window” (para. 4). Louise Mallard experiences what most individuals long for throughout their lives; freedom and happiness. By spending an hour in a “comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4) in front of an open window, she undergoes a transformation that makes her understand the importance of her freedom. The author's use of Spring time imagery also creates a sense of renewal that captures the author's idea that Mrs. Mallard was set free after the news of her husband's death.
Next, Mrs. Mallard was a woman who suffered from the times where women were treated with less value and importance. She lost her own life because rejoice at her husband’s tragedy. Her uncontrollable desire to be free made her become a frivolous woman, who let his personal longing’s end with his own life. When she realized that her husband was alive all his plans vanished. Her happiness was a temporary happiness which lasted less than an hour.
“The Story of an Hour” is a very short text, so the author does not have room to develop a complex plot. In the exposition, the reader learn that Mrs. Mallard has a heart problem, so the other characters wanted to be delicate while sharing the news of her husband’s death. The rising action is when Mrs. Mallard’s sister shares the news and Mrs. Mallard responds by weeping and going to her room. The climax occurs when Mrs. Mallard learns that she will be free from the restrictions the “civil law” forces on women at that time. According to the text, “When she abandoned herself a little whisper escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her
When she goes in her room alone, she unveils her true emotions. The setting shows comfort and indicates that she feels safe. The "open window" symbolises her new beginning and she fills her mind with fantasies of freedom. "She would have no one follow her" indicates that she had only her room to retreat to and it is from this place that she is able to look out at the world. The metaphor "delicious breath of rain", the "peddler", "a distant song" and the sparrows are all symbolical of spring which represents new hope for a better life for Mrs Mallard.
In the story The story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is about a woman named Mrs. Mallard and her conflict about her husband dying and the conflict that she has to face after she hears the news. Mrs. Mallard had an internal conflict with her independence that she now has. But with this independence comes the opinions of the society and how they think women should act and what they think women should do.
The use of imagery is displayed heavily throughout the story to reflect the feelings of Mrs. Mallard following the news of her husband’s abrupt death. The setting outside her window is very descriptive and allows the audience to connect this imagery to the future that Mrs. Mallard is now seeing opening for her. As she is looking out of the window in her bedroom, she sees “trees that were all aquiver with new spring life” as well as sparrows “twittering in the eaves” (Chopin). This represents the joy and realization of a new life for Mrs. Mallard. She can now start over as a free woman instead of living as a man’s property trapped inside the house; this is where the woman’s place was during this period while only