Louise's Untimely Death

Kate Chopin's ideas of feminism were seen in this story through Louise Mallard's reaction after the death of her husband. I will prove that the repression Louise Mallard felt was so intense she would rather die than spend another day in servitude. Also I will cite an example of how the author's feelings of repression were seen through Louise Mallard.

Death can cause a person joy instead of sorrow or grief. “The Story of an Hour,” a perfect example, was written by Kate Chopin. “The Story of an Hour” is a short story that shows how the main character, Louise Mallard, views her marriage and the death of her husband. Mrs. Louise Mallard brings several different themes into the story that may be viewed very differently by different readers. The two themes, confinement and freedom, show how Mrs. Mallard feels before and after learning the news of her husband’s death. “The Story of an Hour” shows how several incidents can occur in just one hour. Set in the home of Mrs. Mallard, the story originates when Mrs. Mallard is told by her sister, Josephine, about her husband’s death. Normally, when a person’s spouse passes away, the passing brings grief, regret, and sorrow. However, Mrs. Mallard feels as if she is confined to her husband; therefore, she is now free and can enjoy life by herself. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to illustrate how confinement, freedom, and irony can occur from marriage and death.

In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the author depicts how someone can be trapped in an unproductive and unsatisfying reality because of other’s thoughtlessness, exploitation, and domination. When combined with the contemporary society’s belief, presumably the later half of the 19th century, a further understanding of Chopin’s thoughts and feelings can be realized. Mrs. Louise Mallard, the victim and messenger of this story, is the image of such a person. Her relationship with her husband is so oppressive and limiting that even death is considered a reasonable means of escape. The condition of life for Mrs. Mallard is terrible, yet for some reason she doesn’t seem to come to the full

“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is about a woman named Louise Mallard, who was very unsatisfied with her marriage and she did not know what happiness was until the death of her husbands’. As a result, in the story, “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin states, “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.”(Chopin 278) It happens to infer that her husband 's death was not giving her grief, but an open door to a new beginning to her new life. The theme for this story would be the forbidden independence

The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story about a woman who struggles with the oppression she experiences at the hands of her husband and her secret desire for independence. Louise Mallard didn’t realize how upset she was in her marriage until she found out about her husband’s death. She grieves for only a short period of time before mentally creating a new life for herself. This new life she envisions help her to see the silver lining in a tragic event. Chopin uses symbolism throughout the story to portray the theme of a quest for identity.

In the short story, written by Kate Chopin we are able to live through Louise Mallards’ emotions after she was given the dreadful news that her husband, Brently, had been killed in a railroad accident. She is finally beginning to feel a sense of freedom and independence, an hour has gone

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.

Kate Chopin, the author of “The Story of the Hour”, writes about Louise Mallard’s mental and emotional suppression during her marriage in 1894 and her overwhelming excitement of her husband’s death. Following the traditional role of wifehood, upheld for centuries, Louise Mallard conforms to her husband’s wishes and desires with no regard to her own personal life. The stress of life and her marriage has caused her to have a weakened heart. Her health is further compromised by the constant conforming to her husband. Louise Mallard steadily falls into a depressive state and questions her love for her husband.

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” focuses on a woman named Louise Mallard and her reaction to finding out about her husband’s death. The descriptions that the author uses in the story have significance in the plot because they foreshadow the ending.

Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour reflects the time in which a woman was forced to abide by the wishes of a man. From keeping the home in order to cater to his every want and need, she was degraded of her real potential, resulting in a hatred toward her spouse, the inability to speak and think freely for herself, and the a desire of independence. Throughout the text, Louise Mallard reveals that she is living in the repressive world of male dominance through her reaction to her husband’s “death” and re-arrival, her longing to be free from her current captivity, and her excitement of her new life as her own individual. The Story of an Hour beings with the acknowledgement of Mrs. Mallard’s heart disease and the depressing news of her “deceased” husband.

Marcus Tullius Cicero stated, “What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.” Freedom is a gift many people crave, but often something that many people don’t receive. It is difficult to obtain full independence, and that is often a roadblock to the things one wants to achieve. This is demonstrated in Kate Chopin’s realistic fictional story, “The Story of an Hour.” This story introduces us to Louise Mallard, a dynamic character afflicted with heart trouble. One day, over the course of an hour, she is told that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. Shocked and distressed, Louise falls into a state of grieving and depression as she stares through her bedroom window by herself. She begins to attempt to picture her life alone, without her husband, but it pains her to think about living in her lonesome. Her mood quickly takes a turn as she sits and thinks, realizing then that she would be living for herself- distanced from her troubled marriage and able to be free for the first time. She becomes thrilled to live her life independently and envisions her life finally belonging to herself. Her vision is quickly ripped from her when her husband walks through the front door of their house, completely alive, despite what Louise had been told. Louise dies instantly at the sight of her husband, her freedom- and her life- ripped away from her.

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is the liberating yet tragic tale of Louise Mallard. It is about Louise Mallard finding independence after hearing news of her husband’s supposed death, and later suddenly dying upon his return. In the story, Chopin does not express the true reason for Mrs. Mallard’s abrupt death, but few insights throughout the narration give indication of the actual reason. The last sentence tells that the doctors said “she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills” (217) which is ironic in the fact that Mrs. Mallard did die of heart disease, but it was not the arrival of joy, but rather the loss of it that caused the imminent end of her life. During the course of the time Mrs. Mallard spends in her room reflecting on her husband’s death, we observe as she goes through different stages of self-discovery: from a grieving widow, to the forbidden satisfaction of her newly found freedom, and ultimately to the acceptance of her situation which elates her as she descends the staircase with her sister in her final moments.

“When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-- of the joy that kills.” At the end of Kate Chopin’s short fiction“ The Story of an Hour”, the wife dies from a shock at the sight of her husband, who reported dead in a train disaster, unexpectedly return home. Throughout the story, there are many clues as to the true reason that causes Louise's death, the loss of freedom. Chopin uses irony to reflect a sharp illustration of women’s inferior position in the early century. At the same time, herself as a feminist of the nineteenth century represents women’s desire to gain autonomy and independence.

In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, Louise Mallard goes through every wives worst nightmare, losing a husband. One day, there was a train accident and one of Mr. Mallard’s friends, Richards, saw Louise Mallards husband, Brently, name on this list of people who died on it. He then called Josephine, Louise’s sister, so she could break the horrific news to her softly because of her heart condition. Although Louise grieves when she is surrounded by everyone, when Mrs. Mallard is alone she sees a new perspective, she is now a free, independent women. Louise remembered her husband as loving and kind but she was living through and for him and not for herself.

At the very end of the text “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin, Louise passed away because she “was afflicted with a heart trouble” triggered by an intense rush of emotions. Doctors attributed Louise’s death to “the joy that killed”. They indeed believed her heart attack had been provoked by the shock of her sudden relief after discovering her husband alive at last. However, the readers know the true reason of Louise’s death: to the contrary, her heart attack had been actually triggered by the tremendous disappointment of seeing her husband finally alive again. After trying to refrain her emotions, Louise silently exulted and felt so liberated because a new life would be starting for her. She wouldn’t have to live anymore in the