Essay on Marital Oppression In The Story Of An Hour by Kate Chopin

As the story begins it introduced Louise as Mrs. Mallard and her unwed sister Josephine by her first name. The author makes this introduction to introduce Louise to the readers as ."..Mrs. Mallard..." (137). Which at the point of marriage the women loose their identities being know only as the Mrs. As Mrs Mallard set forth on her quest for freedom some words escaped her lips "free, free, free!" It was as if she was being released from a life sentence. Which as stated earlier the 19th century was not a time for a woman to be independent or live for herself but the author makes a daring attempt to speak of feminism and the repression that women felt.

Louise Mallard began to grief her husband’s death in Josephine’s arm. When alone in the room the sobbing had stopped. She then reveals great joy as Louise realizes

The Story of an Hour, is about Louise Mallard, a woman who has heart trouble. She is informed by her sister that Brently Mallard, her husband has died in a railroad disaster. The story first informs us that Mrs. Mallard, “wept at once

48-55, ProQuest, http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 226924170?accountid=3442. Literary critic Mark Cunningham presents personal views and ideas about the character, Louise Mallard, in “The Story of an Hour.” He presents the argument that Louise did not pass away after seeing her husband, Brently Mallard, arrive home. Rather he argues she passed away from the emotional strain brought on by the awakening moments of freedom experienced soon after learning of her loss. Cunningham also explains

Firstly, there is no evidence in the text of “The Story of an Hour” to suggest that Louise Mallard has been at all unfaithful to her husband. One sentence within the article suggests that some readers have sensed an extramarital affair—or an attempted one—between Mrs. Mallard and Richards, which, given its inclusion, the authors appear to agree with (Chongyue and Lihua). However, Richards is mentioned by name in the text of the short story three times: at the beginning when he confirmed the news of Brently Mallard’s death, toward the end when he awaited Josephine and Louise at the bottom of the staircase, and when he tries to block Louise from seeing Brently Mallard alive as he walks in the door (Chopin). He does not even truly interact with Louise: he is described as “near her” when she learns of

Mallard in the Story of an Hour is told her husband has been in an accident and passed away. The woman loved her husband only sometimes and chose to grieve in an expected and justified manner. The story portray’s that Mr. Mallard had oppressed Mrs. Mallard and made it so that she could not show her real personality and self worth. Once alone in her room she let the news sink in and became excited to start the new chapter in her life saying “..she would live for herself”. Mrs. Mallard finally comes out of the room to find out her husband is alive. The heartbreak and shock of what can never be caused Mrs. Mallard to have a heart attack. Mrs. Mallard dreams of “…no powerful will bending hers…” was crushed by her passing away and sadly never getting her

“ The Story Of An Hour” portrayed woman as often weak, useless, and honestly does not have a say in the marriage. Louise Mallard took her husband’s “death” as a chance to be free, independent and her own woman, she would no longer have a man controlling her, and a man would not bring her down. She said over and over under her breathe “free, free, free”. There would be no one to put a burden on her. The thought of freedom, independence, and being her own woman, made Lousie Mallard happy

In “The Story of an Hour” there is conflict that states why Louise would want to be free; the role of the wife versus the role of the husband. For instance, Louise struggled with her feelings about her marriage for years. Louise thinks "what could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being" (16). She admits that she did love her husband, but often she did not. On the other hand, the story suggests that her husband was

In “The Story of an Hour,” when Louise Mallard hears the news that her husband, Brently Mallard, was killed in a tragic train accident, she is devastated. After being left alone and having time to think, she realizes that she is now free to live as her own person. This occurrence is a prime example of how women were not treated as equals, but as servants to men and their husbands. Furthermore, it shows how women at the time had no way out of their marriage unless their husband passed away. Nonetheless, if it were written today, there is a possibility that Mr. Mallard would have treated her better and she would have been able to live her own life while still being married to him. If not this, she could have divorced him and found a husband that

When Louise acknowledges that her husband is dead, she realizes that there will "be no powerful will bending her" (paragraph 14). There will be no husband who believes he has the "right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature" (paragraph 14). Louise knew that her husband loved her. He had only looked at Louise with love (paragraph 13). This tells the us as readers that Louise’s husband wasn’t a terrible man; he just believed that it was his right as a husband, to direct Louise in everything she did.

The quote demonstrates the feminist theory and that is was thought that all women were oppressed. In this story, marriage seems to be displayed as the male having control of the women. Also, the story gives us the intention that Mrs. Mallard thought she was not allowed to express her own thoughts, which was probably true. After her husband passes away, she realizes how free she is and transforms into her own individual person. Right after Mrs. Mallard has these deep thoughts, we begin to hear her sister calling her Louise. With her being called by her original name, we can identify that she is now equal to men, and she is her own person instead of being held back as a wife.

In ‘The story of an hour’, it is set in a house in the 1890s, a time when women had little to no rights. Louise was the typical housewife married to the working man. She was to keep the house in order and have dinner ready when the man got home. This confinement and role Louise had to play gives her “heart trouble”. At first when Mr. Mallard is reported dead, Louise weeps suddenly then goes to her room. She spends the next several minutes looking at how free she is now that her husband is gone. The setting of the story affects the context greatly. If it had taken place in the 21st century, Louise might not

In the story The Story of an Hour Mrs. Louise Mallard was told that her husband’s had died from a tragic accident in a railroad and when she finally became at peace with her husband’s death he showed up and their door. She ended up the one who died at the end of the story. There are a few things in this story that can be interpreted from a feminist point of view. The first is she was introduced to the readers as Mrs. Mallard. The only time throughout the story that her

Within the story The Story of an Hour there is a train wreck that Louise Mallard’s husband is thought to be on and so his name is on the list of people whom have passed. Mrs. Mallard’s sister and husband’s friend, knowing that she has “heart troubles,” try to keep the news from her before they can enlighten her of the harsh news lightly and smoothly, with much success. She shows a face of how she should react, but on her own she thinks of all of the possibilities that she can do now. She actually feels better about life and wishes for it to be longer than she had when her husband is alive. Through his death she gains a sense of identity for herself. During the time of Mrs. Mallard’s world, a good wife would be one that “accepts the conventions”

“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