Mrs Mallard Symbolism

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.

Mrs. Mallard is, outwardly, a typical woman in the 19th century with a husband, family, and home. It is first apparent that Mrs. Mallard is not satisfied with her role as a wife when she receives the news of her husband’s death and begins to feel a sensation of joy that overcomes her. The wife’s unhappiness with her married life is enhanced when the narrator states, “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.” (Chopin 16) The reader infers that Mrs. Mallard was figuratively suffocating under the duties and stereotypes a 19th century woman was subjected to, such as caring for a house and family instead of pursuing a career outside of the home. Mrs. Mallard views her husband’s death as an escape from her role and a chance to have control over her life and choices, showed when she whispers “Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin 16) In the final portion of the story Mrs. Mallard’s husband returns home, having never been in an accident, and she dies of what doctors determine is an overwhelming joy for seeing her husband alive. The reader infers that Mrs. Mallard has lost her chance of a new start and freedom from her role and dies of grief over her loss of freedom. The author contrasts Mrs. Mallard’s lack of control and freedom in her life to

Mrs. Mallard feels free after her husband died. This is because she had money and power, but the thing she was missing was her freedom. Using the Marxist lens to scrutinize the reading helps the reader identify that the rich Mallard family are of a higher place in society. The reader can when the Mallards are portrayed as rich when they received a telegram and when Mr. Mallard was traveling in a train. Mr. Mallard’s name was the first name of the deceased, the Mallards living in a high building which both display the Mallards were of a higher class in

Mrs. Mallard is a young woman living life day by day with heart disease, insecurities and a broken marriage. Mrs. Mallard has to live with heart disease as well as her many insecurities and a husband whom she is not sure that she loves. This is not an attractive way to live and her seemingly countless hardships eventually take her life. Due to the circumstances under which Mrs. Mallard lived, I can easily state that she is a sympathetic character in the story. Throughout the short story the difficulties that encompass Mrs. Mallard seemingly never end.

Kate Chopin's `The Story of an Hour' is a short yet complex piece describing the feelings of Mrs Mallard. This story is overflowing with symbolism and imagery. The most prominent theme here is the longing for freedom. Chopin focuses on unfolding the emotional state of Mrs Mallard which can be separated into three stages: quickly moving to grief, through a sense of newfound freedom, and finally into the despair of the loss of that freedom.

Mrs. Mallard is emotionally unstable due to her low amount of freedom. Her emotional trouble is directly linked to her lack of freedom, which leads to

After reading this story, I didn’t feel very happy. Mrs. Mallard ‘s death was really a tragedy. From the story, we can find that Mrs. Mallard felt very constrained and depressed in her marriage. And she was desired to have freedom, was desired to be independent, was desired to have her own rights. In my opinion, this story was talking about the freedom of women.

Mallard’s oppression is that she feels freedom when her husband has passed. Most times a widow would grieve for the loss of her husband for many months and/or months to come, but this is not the case with Mrs. Mallard. She cries uncontrollably for a couple of minutes and then starts to realize how her life could be so much easier without him. The roomy chair she sits in and opened window she looks out of symbolizes how now her life can be free. The breath of rain in the air, the spring life, the westward facing of the window viewing the sunset, and the notes of a distant song all help her realize her

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin contains several literary elements that relate directly to the theme as a whole. Some elements of this story’s theme can be shown in the setting that Chopin describes as the sky shining through the clouds. It is also reinforced by the situational irony that occurs when Mrs. Mallard passes away when she receives the news that her husband is still living. Chopin further relates the theme of independence being forbidden, and that it is imagined privately by using the point of view to narrate the story. In the story, many different literary elements are used to create numerous amounts of deep meanings to the story.

“The Story of An Hour” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young nineteenth-century woman, Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the reader to cogitate a hidden meaning weaved into Kate‘s short story. Chopin had an idea that women felt confined in their marriages, and the idea is brought out through the protagonist’s initial reaction, excessive joy, and new perspective of the world following the upsetting news.

A short story, “The Story of an Hour” was written by Kate Chopin in 1894, when the women were forced to do housework inside in American society. In this story, a protagonist Mrs. Mallard is shocked to hear her husband’s death at first, but she gradually realizes her freedom from his oppression and become elated. Through this story, the protagonist’s “heart trouble” and “the open window” in her room are depicted as symbols of the oppression and the desire for freedom of the then women. First, the heart trouble of the protagonist impresses her fate to intimate it at the beginning.

Kate Chopin is the author of many short-stories and novels. Her short story, “The Story of an Hour,” is about a woman named Mrs. Louise Mallard with a fragile heart that suddenly and unexpectedly loses her husband in a train accident. Throughout the story, Mrs. Mallard learns to embrace the accident because for her it meant she finally obtained freedom from her demanding life that she has been wanting to break away from. Freedom and independence is one of the themes of “The Story of an Hour” and appears in the story when Mrs. Mallard learns that her husband is in a train accident, when she secludes herself from everyone in her room, and when she learns that her husband is actually alive.

In the midst of her grieving, Mrs. Mallard pictures the time that is to come, when she will be able to make all of her own decisions and will be given the freedom to live her life as she pleases. Suddenly, she feels relieved more than she is upset. “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death…but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely (Booth 307). Her desire for freedom overcame the despair of her husband’s death.

Mallard should have been in tears but it did not bother her. “ She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.” ( Chopin, 4 ) . Her marriage aged her, she was no longer the young woman she once was. The news of her husband's death did not upset or make her mad it gave her a sense of peace. Mrs. Mallard had a taste of freedom which gave her strength.

Kate Chopin’s impressive literary piece, The Story of an Hour, encompasses the story of an hour of life, an hour of freedom. We must seize the day and live our lives to the fullest without any constraints. This very rich and complete short story carries a lot of meaning and touches a readers feelings as well as mind. Throughout this piece much symbolism is brought about, which only helps us to understand the meaning and success of Kate Chopin’s work. Kate allows her reader to think and allows us to understand the meaning of her story with the different uses of symbols such as heart troubles, the armchair, the open window, springtime, and the calm face and goddess of victory. We eventually realize little by little that Mrs. Mallard