Short Story Of An Hour Analysis

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.

The reader might question as to why Mrs. Mallard’s feelings towards her husband’s death change so quickly. Was she previously unaware of the “subtle and elusive” (227) thoughts that made her believe that this death might be a blessing in disguise? Mrs. Mallard, before her husband’s death, had a romanticized view of her marriage. While she believed she loved Brently and was happy, after his death she became aware of the freedom she would now experience without a controlling husband. The “powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence” (228) would no longer be present. Mrs. Mallard was aware of her yearnings of independence and joy, but would never voice them while locked into her marriage with Brantley. While at first, it may seem as Mrs. Mallard was unaware of these feelings, the death of her husband was just the catalyst that allowed her deepest feelings to be revealed and her dreams of independence to finally

She was heartbroken, to begin with, but realizing that between her husband and her there was not much love and their marriage had already been falling apart since the beginning made her mixed emotions that she was feeling a change. She accepted that her husband had passed away but when Chopin says "she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance." and most women do not tend to react the same way that she did but because most women did not have to go through what she did. Times were different but that still does not change the fact that her husband had to leave her at home keeping her as a housewife. That made her feel lonely and sad, which was affecting her heart trouble making it worse. When they find out that after all her husband was fine and he had not passed away Mrs. Mallard was in the room looking out the window, not knowing yet that her husband was still alive, Chopin says "when the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease of the joy that kills." (Chopin 2). She died happy knowing that her husband was gone. Mrs. Mallard wanted to be independent women but could not which was why she was very happy to know that now she was free to become that independent woman she has been wanting to be. She finally had freedom because her husband never made it on time to tell her that he was fine and that

The definition of freedom, according to Dictionary.com, is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In the declaration of independence, American citizens are given freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to vote, right to a fair trial, and freedom of assembly to name a few. These rights that we have enable us to form communities and have our voices heard regarding issues that negatively impact us as a whole or prevent us from moving towards a brighter and hopeful future because that is what freedom is. It is about hope. It is about being your own person without hesitation, without judgement. “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin and “A&P” written by John Updike encounter two very

I then spoke with Bombard. I asked Bombard what had happened. Bombard said since last night her store had been receiving harassment phone calls from a 323----- telephone number. Bombard estimated the harassment phone calls to be around 15 times.

The story unviels its theme at this point: Mrs. Mallard, for the first time in her life, experiences a new-found freedom. Instead of dreading the future without her husband, "she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely". She could now live her life and be absolutely free of the imposing will of her husband: There would be no one to live for her during the coming years; she would live for herself. There would be now powerful will bending hers in the blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.(15)

In her article Kate Chopin’s View on Death and Freedom in The Story of an Hour, Xuemei Wan proposes that Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour expresses birth and death, psychology of Mrs. Mallard, and freedom. The Story of an Hour written by the American woman writer, Kate Chopin (1851-1904) fully shows us the tremendous conflict between life and death among those women who had more self-awareness. Who had less social living space according to the established social norms 100 years ago in a dramatic way. The heroine’s strong desire for freedom and sudden death. This reminds us of the philosophical thought on life and death of Zhuangzi, ancient Chinese thinker, Martin Heidegger, which deconstruct and transcend the conflict between them, and many more. In this essay, I will be critiquing Xuemei Wen article showing the strengths, weaknesses, and notable features.

The Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin is the tragic story of a woman whose newfound position as a widow gives her strength. She develops a sense of freedom as she embraces her husband's death as an opportunity to establish her own identity. The tragedy is when her newfound identity gets stripped away as the appearance of her husband reveals that he is still alive. The disappointment from this tragedy kills her with a heart attack symbolizing the many conflicts that she faced throughout the story. The conflicts the character faces within herself and society show that the social norms for women were suppressing to their strength and individuality as human beings.

In the short story "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin, the author, presents the reader with an obscure view of marriage. Chopin's main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, experiences the excitement of freedom instead of the devastation of loneliness after she receives the news of her husband's death. Mrs. Mallard disturbingly finds out that Brently, her husband is still alive. She know knew that her only chance at freedom is gone. The disappointment instantly kills Mrs. Mallard. Published in the late 1800s, the overbearing nature of marriage presented in "The Story of an Hour" may very well reflect, but not restricted to, that era.

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 first paragraph of The Story of an Hour summarizes the main elements of the short story. We can begin to see the story take shape as the author gets straight to the point by stating Mrs. Mallard’s health ailment and the possible danger of unexpected news is highlighted with the words, “…great care must be taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Mays 278). We can start to see the direction that Chopin is headed by this first paragraph and the title of the short story is a nod to the duration and the form of which this story will exist.

I know how it is to feel trapped in a relationship that is going bad. One feels there is no reasonable way out; this can cause a person to become lonely and impatient for independence. The fact that I have experienced a similar situation enables me to relate to the character of Mrs. Mallard and can justify the feelings of sympathy and compassion I have towards her. In addition, I know how exciting it is to be able to experience life, adventures, and independence. In this way, I understand Mrs.

Unease. Thrilling. Surprise. These are simply three feelings thrown at the reader all happening in a one-page story. Short-short stories often have the affect of making the reader feel uneasy. The reason behind this, is because the stories are so short the writer needs to jump directly into the story with something interesting or alarming to grab the reader’s attention. Often, the more uneasy the writing is, the more it leaves an effect on the reader. Clearly, some stories are more uneasy than others.

In her short story "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin’s brilliant use of words immediately captures the reader’s attention. There is no introduction of characters and no build up to this story. In the opening sentence, Chopin introduces the readers to Louise Mallard and informs them of her heart condition. Little do the readers know, this will be a huge factor at the end of the story. The readers also learn that Louise’s husband has died in a railroad accident. With the knowledge of these two events, Chopin takes the reader on a journey with the widowed Louise Mallard in the last hour of her life with all the conflicting emotions that go along with it.

Many housewives during the turn of the nineteenth century were not pleased with their marriages. Only a small percentage of married women enjoyed their marriage with their spouse. Women were often looked down upon during that time frame. This caused many women to become depressed and made them long for a better way of life where they were able to live freely without being judged by society. The short story, “The Story of an Hour,” was written in 1894, by Kate Chopin who displays this way of life through the protagonist of the story, Louise Mallard. Louise Mallard is a perfect depiction of a common housewife for that particular generation. However, Louise Mallard did not completely envy her husband. The audience is able to notice her feelings toward her husband through various quotes from Louise Mallard throughout the short story. Mrs. Mallard embodies a woman in the late 1800’s who has been quietly suffering and has been looking for a way to be freed from her husband, but at the same time she feels sorrowful from the news of the passing of her husband.