Story Of An Hour Critical Analysis

Through Mrs. Mallard, we could see the social repression that women felt at that time. Therefore, in this story there is so much repression, Chopin said "They were locked into marriages" that probably loved. At least Mrs. Mallard says her husband "never looked at her save with love" (Chopin 34).

“But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely” (Chopin 157). She feels free from the obligations to her husband that was forced upon her during the Victorian era and she is looking forward to the years of independent freedom that are yet to come. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature” (157). Mrs. Mallard did not want to submit to the oppressor, who in this case, was her husband. She wanted to make her own decisions and didn’t want to take orders from her husband. She was forced to live that way because her husband controlled her. Once she found out that he was supposedly dead, she felt free from the male oppression that she had been a victim of since the day she and her husband exchanged vows. Mrs. Mallard would rather live for herself and not have to live for her husband, and his alleged death allowed her to live for herself without getting a divorce, so her society wouldn’t look down upon her.

Many refer to Chopin’s stories as having a unique approach to worldwide issues and concerns. Chopin doesn’t want to change the world; all she wants is to describe it as best she could through her pieces of literature. She wants to expose the truth about the lives of many women and men in the nineteenth-century and how challenging it really is. She uses an infinite amount of literary devices, including imagery, to show the reality of society’s situation back in the 18th century. In, "The Story of an Hour,” her main idea/theme is the pure formality of Freedom and Confinement for women through marriage. She portrays that by creating imagery throughout the story. For example, she gives the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard's new life through the view of an “open window.” She wants her audience to experience what Mrs.Mallard was so that the readers will fully understand the severity of women’s situations then and now who have to go through the pain that Mrs.Mallard did every single day. Bob Marley once said that, “Beginnings are usually scary, and endings are usually sad, but it’s everything in between that makes it all worth living,” and in Mrs.Mallard’s case, that reigns true. The emotions she feels when she liberates from her tight chains of marriage became the reason she wants to live and to keep moving forward. That feeling makes her life worth living again, but then disaster strikes and that feeling vanishes along with her living, breathing self. Mrs.Mallard didn’t die of ‘joy that kills,’ she dies of the darkness of her past consuming every last breath she takes, and then... she’s

Kate Chopin is known for being criticized for empowering the subject of female sexuality and independence. In Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, it is placed in a time where men were known as being the head of the household while women were only in charge of raising the children and caring for the home. In the 1890s, women didn’t have so much power to themselves compared to today’s society where female empowerment is frequently encouraged. Chopin’s story narrates a sequence of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions that goes within the motion of the story. As she overcomes the sudden death of her husband, her emotion of grief soon turns into the sudden feeling of freedom, later on emerging into a strong independent woman.

Through Mrs. Mallard, we could see the social repression that women felt at that time. Therefore, in this story there is so much repression, Chopin said "They were locked into marriages" that probably loved. At least Mrs. Mallard says her husband "never looked at her save with love" (Chopin 34).

Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of An Hour,” emotionally illustrates the hour in which a young woman with a heart condition finds out her husband has been killed in a mining accident. In the beginning, she grieves over the loss of her husband, but she soon becomes relieved and joyous when she realizes that she is now free. However, her husband returns after having been far from the mines for the day and her heart problems return and she dies. Kate Chopin was an early feminist author and was well acquainted with death after losing many siblings as a child, her husband (who left her a large amount of debt), and her mother with whom she was very close. As a means of therapy, Chopin took up writing and her ideas about feminism and death are very clear. In “The Story of An Hour,” Chopin uses multiple symbols and an allusion to a Greek god to illustrate and support the idea that male oppression harms the souls and lives of women.

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.

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

In the Victorian era women were treated unfairly. Women did not have any freedom or independence. In two stories I read called “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”, had a setting taking place during the Victoria era. Both readings assimilated on the feministic interpretations of women repression and liberation. The stories had women characters that felt trapped in their marriages and wanted to be free. The women lived in a men dominant society and were treated inferiorly to their husbands. In “The Story of the Hour” a woman name Mrs. Mallard felt trap in her marriage that she no longer wanted to be in. She struggled with her marriage because she wanted to have her own identity. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a nameless woman

Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour” shows the theme of freedom (through the loss and gain of a husband) thought her work. The Story of an Hour, focuses on Mrs. Mallard gaining her freedom and losing it all within the hour. This transpires do to a misunderstanding after a train crash, where upon learning that her husband has died, Mrs. Mallard discovers that she may know live the life that she wishes to. Up until the point that Mr. Mallard walks through the door completely fine. Chopin use irony, symbolism and conflict to show how gaining freedom in any form and having it takin away can change one’s self.

Mallard’s suppressed self that she has endured in the formalities of her life (1). Chopin continues to express how afflicted Mrs. Mallard is with her struggle to come to terms with her current state of emotions and her vision of self by describing Mrs. Mallard’s “dull eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky.” While Chopin depicts Mrs. Mallard’s glance as not being one of reflection “but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought,” it can be inferred that Mrs. Mallard is processing her self-being not on a rational level but more on her emotional stimuli.

Mallard and Mrs. Baroda she does not do it in first person she reveals the stories in the narrator’s voice. The narrator knows more than they let on. Like in a story of an hour Mrs. Mallard showed for the most part she did not love her husband (paragraph 15). the reader must look at Mrs. Mallard’s actions in words rather than just telling the reader how she is feeling to understand how mallard is feeling. Mallard acknowledged that her husband loved her. Brently had only ever looked at Mrs. Mallard with love (paragraph 13). Which showed he was not a bad man; he thought that it was his right and obligation to direct his wife in everything she does. During the time period women had certain allowed rules and in Chopin’s writing she expressed herself in a way that is not part of everyday for them. Mrs. Mallard experiences the exhilaration of freedom that her husband’s death in “Story of an Hour”. when she learns that her husband is alive, she knows her hope for freedom is gone, and the disappointment of not having freedom is what kills her. The oppressive nature in “The Story of an Hour” may be a reflection, though not exclusive to the eighteenth century.

It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long" (Chopin). Accordingly, there will be no more persistence on the way she lives and the way she acts. All her dreams are coming true, she sees her husband is a restriction upon her life, but as soon as she realizes that he won’t be a burden anymore, she is delighted. Society’s view in women was quite delicate, they were expected to do housework and be on their two feet at all times. The role of a house women includes cleaning, cooking, respecting your husband, taking care of your children. Chopin, like many other women’s in the late 18th liked knowing that someday women will have the privilege of doing anything they desire. Mrs. Mallard felt oppressed in her marriage, but for the very first time ever, she feels the probability of constructing her own existence and identifying prospects for her own

In the early 19th century the men of society were dominant, they were considered the caregivers and are responsible for the actions of their women. When a woman would get into trouble they would be sent to their husband or father to be punished. Kate Chopin unlike many women did not have a male figure in her life. As an author she still had to prove herself to society that she was a good writer. Most female writers of that century wrote under a male name so they could be published, Kate Chopin wanted to be known for her work. Mrs. Mallard searches for freedom within her life. She feels trapped in her marriage, and her husband's death is her ticket to freedom. Kate Chopin shows Mrs. Mallard’s desire for freedom through the use of irony.

Mrs. Mallard suffers from a heart condition; thus, her sister Josephine gently and carefully breaks the news of Mr. Mallard’s death. Richards, a close friend of Mr. Mallard, is the first to discover the news of Mr. Mallard’s railroad tragedy. When hearing the news, Mrs. Mallard collapses in grief into her sister’s arms and retreats upstairs into her room. While her sister begs Mrs. Mallard to open the door, Mrs. Mallard reflects on her feelings. She sinks into an armchair facing an open window noticing the “new spring life, the delicious breath of rain in the air, the peddler in the street crying his ware, the notes of a distant song which someone was singing and countless sparrows twittering in the eaves” (Chopin 556). This signifies a new blossoming life: a life that she would live for herself. Although her husband is loving, and she knows that she will weep again when she sees his dead body, she realizes how confined marriage is for her. Robert Evans, author of “Literary Contexts in Short Stories: Kate Chopin's “‘The Story of an Hour,’” claims that Mrs. Mallard looks forward to a bright future rather than a dreadful life. She becomes aware that she must live alone rather than being imprisoned by marriage. As these thoughts circulate in her mind, she keeps whispering, “Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin 557).By conveying the story through Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts, Chopin portrays how women actually feel compared to what they present in society. While Josephine and society expect Mrs. Mallard to be grieving, Mrs. Mallard is actually looking forward to the days ahead of her: “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own” (Chopin 557). When Mrs. Mallard discovers that the news of her husband’s death was inaccurate, Mrs. Mallard dies from a heart attack after seeing her husband alive. The