Mallard's Oppression

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a tightly written short story that takes place within a single hour of Mrs. Louise Mallard’s seemingly unsatisfying marriage. Although the story is no more than two pages long, one should not look down upon the shortness of the story, but instead be amazed at how packed such a small piece of literature is. The major theme the story revolves around is the oppressive views of marriage that the main character, Mrs. Mallard experiences in the latter part of the 19 century, a time in which when women had very few rights and it was normal for women to keep a tidy house and stray away from any type of manual work, including the workforce. When Kate Chopin wrote the story, Chopin managed to use all of the

Kate Chopin's short story The Story of an Hour focuses on equal rights for women during the late nineteenth century. The Story of an Hour is a short ironic story about a woman, Mrs. Louise Mallard, who had just learned about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard. Although Mrs. Mallard loved her husband; for they have traveled the world and built a stable comforting life together it seemed, she felt terrified after hearing of the tragic train accident that her husband was involved in. But at the same time, she also has a feeling of liberation and freedom from marriage for the first time. She may finally look forward to her upcoming days instead of dreading them. After later realizing that her husband was

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 describes in "The Story of an Hour" a short story, a opposing point of view of marriage by giving the reader a woman, the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard who is somewhat unruffled and calm by the news of her husband, Brently’s, death. After she learns that her husband is still alive, it caused her heart to give out and she died. Though the “The Story of the Hour” was published in the eighteen hundred, the opinions of marriage in the story could correspond with this day in age as well. Louise felt trapped in her marriage. The lines of her face "bespoke repression" (paragraph 8) expresses her hidden feeling of entrapment.

During the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard is presented as a fragile, faint hearted, powerless woman. This is shown in, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the new of her husband's death” (Chopin pg.179 1-3). This story really puts the thought in our heads that Mrs. Mallard is not the most strong minded

Patriarchal ideals in “Story of an Hour” enforce the inferiority of women, and breaking the patriarchy liberates womankind. Kate Chopin sheds light on the deadly results that patriarchy can bring. From the very first line, patriarchal ideals are expressed by letting the reader know that “Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, [and] great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin). Mrs. Mallard is too feeble to hear of her husband’s death, and keeping this news from her means that her truth is being withheld. While not explicit, this is an example of patriarchy at work. Mrs. Mallard is not strong enough for her truth, so a man must tell her sister, who then tells Mrs. Mallard. This extensive filtration supports the notion that women are inferior because they cannot handle the stress of bad news. In a turn of expectations, Mrs. Mallard sees the news of her husband’s death as a beacon of liberation. By her lonesome, Mrs. Mallard assures herself that “there would be no one to live for during those coming years [after her husband’s death]; she would live for herself.” (Chopin). Patriarchy laid down upon Mrs. Mallard so much that the breaking of it frees her. She discovers her truth for herself, not a filtered truth by a man, which is a result of the patriarchal forces in her life being dissolved.

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.

First, Mrs. Mallard is exposed as a weak hearted woman in the beginning of the plot: The scene opens up “Knowing 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” (13). Chopin describes that great care was taken to reveal the news of her husband’s death as she was afflicted with heart disease and she would not be able to accept it at once. Later on when the news of Mr. Mallard’s death is revealed, “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms”(13). Mrs. Mallard reacts to this news as other wife would. This clearly explains that she was first scared to have no one follow her in future. Following

“Story of An Hour”: A message of Self-assertion from Kate Chopin’s life The “Story of An Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin that provides a glimpse into the events that take place within an hour in the character Mrs. Mallards life. In Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” she emphasized on the mixed emotions or internal struggles that a women feel during the awakening of her selfhood and the devastation that is felt with the loss of that selfhood. Through an awakening of selfhood in Mrs. Mallard, Chopin communicates the struggle a women faced of feeling torn between the societal expectations of women and marriage, and the inner struggle of a woman wanting to live for herself, expressing the guilt woman feel associated with doubting societies views on marriage. Chopin was trying to communicate to other women that they were not alone in their

At the beginning of Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard, suffers severe heart problems. Because of her heart condition, great care is taken when her sister decides to inform her of the tragic demise of her husband. When considering Mrs. Mallards troubled heart, her ailments are due to emotional problems she has encountered over a period of time; she is expected to be submissive, and she is not able to live for herself nor be free. Considering, she married at a young age, she has never had the opportunity to live or be free; thus, any emotional problems remained subdued.

Who wants to be told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it every day of their married life and are expected to lay next to their oppressor at night and smile and say “I love you.” In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” the setting of the story dates back to the late eighteen-hundreds, a time period in which America is shaping into the country everyone knows today. Louise Mallard is “young, with a fair, calm face” (Chopin 128) house wife living in a one-spouse dominant relationship with a man named Brently Mallard. After years of no appreciation and oppression, Louise is hit with bad news from her husband’s friend that he has passed in a tragic railroad disaster. Moments are passing by; Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition is the concern around the

“The Story of an Hour” is a short story that was authored by Kate Chopin. Mrs. Louise Mallard, the story’s main character, who experiences a brief moment of freedom from the hardships that came with being a woman in the late eighteenth century, after the death of her husband. Later, Mrs. Mallard discovers that her husband, Brently Mallard, is still alive and gets her freedom ripped out of her along with her life.

In the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, a young woman named Louise Mallard received news that her husband has passed. Mrs. Mallard’s feeling of freedom is matched by her guilt of his death. Mrs. Mallard had an internal conflict for her desire to be independent vs. society’s role for women.

When first reading Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour," one may not typically be surprised at its ending, write it off as one of those creepy "back from the dead" horror stories and forget about it. There is more to this story than simply horror. The author is making a very strong, however subtle, statement towards humanity and women's rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin shows how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a loving partnership.

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.