Story Of An Hour Critical Analysis

In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour,” Louise privately imagines the forbidden pleasure of independence. When Louise’s sister Josephine informs her of her husband Brently’s death, she reacts with violent grief. Once alone however, Louise realizes that she is now an independent woman and it excites her. As time passes, Louise begins to pray that this new independent lifestyle lasts forever. However, when Brently unexpectedly returns from a trip, this newfound freedom disappears and leads to Louise’s untimely death. A major theme in this short story is the idea of the forbidden joy of independence which Louise briefly experiences. Throughout several excerpts of this short story, the joy of independence possess Louise and gives

Tabitha D. Brooks English 102 Professor Kalwa Comparison/Contrast Short Stories February 24, 2016 The Oppression of Main Characters: Examined By Chopin and Faulkner Short stories have diverse beginnings with insightful endings. The authors of short stories tend to create suspense and give readers trigger endings in just few pages of their writing. They also use ironic statements to project their characters feeling and emotion.

“The Story of an Hour” depicts the telling of a spouse’s death, and how the wife reacted to the information. Marriage to most in the 21st century is how one shows the greatest extent of their love. However, to myself marriage is nothing but a piece of paper people sign, that gives another a right to half their earnings. Marriage does not quantify love. “The Story of an Hour” shows that although the main character was married, it was not what equated her love or happiness. Marriage is a contract, not an act of affection. People should not deem marriage as the sole way someone shows their love.

Imagine this, a women happy and excited that her husband is dead.Well that’s how “The Story of an Hour” was written.When a close family friend and relative deliver news that a young woman’s husband is dead, the results are highly unexpected.The young women Mrs.Mallard has heart trouble so it had to be broken gently.At first she’s heartbroken,but when she goes up to her room she’s...happy?Her sister brings her down stairs as Mr.Mallard walks through the door,she dies, and at the hospital it’s pronounced that she died of joy that kills.This story is a great example of situational and dramatic irony and this essay will explain it.

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is very intriguing, not only because of the emotional change Louise Mallard goes through the hour after her husband’s tragic death but also the way Chopin uses irony in the story. During this analysis of “The Story of an Hour” we will discuss the summary, plot, setting, tone, theme, point of view, emotions of Louise Mallard and other characters involved in the story. Chopin’s story uses the feelings of a married woman in the late 1890’s and feminine identities, to help the reader better understand married life of a woman during that period in time. In the story, Louise Mallard is a young woman with a heart condition who recently is informed of her husband’s death. At first she is sad and then a wonderful feeling begins to come over her, it is happiness; freedom, although she does not feel that for long. “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead” (Chopin 2). “And yet she had loved him – sometimes. Often she had not” (Chopin 2). Kate Chopin uses nature imagery, irony and tragedy to set the theme; women’s role in a marriage and feminine identity. “Marriage was considered a sacred institution. Divorce was quite rare in the 1800s and if one was to occur; men were automatically given legal control of all property and children” (Hicks 1).

“ ‘Free, free, free; body and soul free’ ” (Chopin 100-101), are the faint words whispered from Louise’s parted lips. But, why? Mrs. Mallard, also known as Louise, is the main character of Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour”. Within the story, Louise is given dreadful news concerning her husband who allegedly has been killed in a railroad disaster. And as the story progresses, her transgressions through her swift emotional changes about the matter, from grief and fear to an unrecognizable joy for freedom, are shown, exploring the very question at hand. And, even though Louise may seem as a weak and fragile woman, at first, through the death of her husband and her emotions that are shown throughout the short story, one can see Louise

In “The story of an hour” the author introduces the audience to the protagonist Mrs. Mallard hearing about her husband’s death and locking herself in a room. After that, she dreams of being free and happy for one hour. The protagonist Mrs. Mallard also has experienced oppression and her unhappiness from her marriage leads to depression and ultimately, heart disease and loss of life. In the “Story of an hour” author Kate Chopin uses imagery, irony and symbolism that an unhappy marriage takes away a woman’s individual freedom and happiness.

Louise Mallard was planning her freedom from her husband. She was finally going to live for her and not for her husband. This was kind of curled, and evil, because she was fulfilled of joy for Brently’s death. “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her.” (Chopin). When you married, a person is because you are in love, and want to be with the person forever. Even though in this story doesn’t have much detail about her married, it feels like she was almost a slave to her husband. As a woman and wife, she had no rights since she was “property” of Mr. Mallard. Seeing the time era this story was written, women had not rights to anything, like voting.

By examining Louise through the narrator’s eyes, it is known she has heart trouble, is unhappy in her marriage, and wants more for herself in life. Chopin also describes her as, “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (65). Her eyes appeared to have no life in

“The Story of An Hour” was written by Kate Chopin on April 19, 1894, and was published in Vogue Magazine later that year. Chopin’s short story takes place in the Mallard home where Louise Mallard has just heard the news of the passing of her husband, Brently Mallard. A tone of a conflicted self-discovery begins to unfold throughout the story as Louise begins to contemplate life with no husband. The purpose of the story is to understand Louise’s inner struggle and to comprehend her newfound appreciation for herself and the possibilities that lie ahead as a widow. Kate Chopin uses various forms of figurative language to bring this short story to life. Also, Chopin’s use of symbolism

I believe that in “The Story of An Hour” the author wanted it to be “Common.” You may think it’s a weird theme but as you get older you understand this story more. At first I didn’t think I could understand until I really thought about it.

Many authors write short stories to let the story have many different perspectives. In “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin wants the reader to feel as though, Louise is genuinely upset that her husband had died. In this short story Chopin focuses on the 19th century American woman’s dramatic hour of awakening into selfhood. She makes the character out to be a woman of either selfishness, or a woman that has been through an unhappy marriage. In the end it enables Louise to live the last moments of her life with an acute consciousness of life’s immeasurable beauty.

Any way of life denied of self-government is a type of death. There was a time in life that women's rights weren’t lawful. Following Kate Chopin, fiction story describes in an exclusive way of back in the day's lifestyle. Her use of remarkable literary gave the tale clues of the message she was trying to convey to the reader. “The Story of an Hour” reflects the forbidden delight of freedom and death.

​In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” marks the narrow passage between life and death. Mrs. Mallard finds out that her husband, Brently Mallard dies. His death was confirmed by the brother-in-law. The brother-in-law finds about the tragedy through a telegram; then confirms the death by a second telegram. The looming task of telling Mrs. Mallard of her husband’s death was delivered by her sister Josephine. Josephine did not think that her sister Mrs. Mallard would take the news well. After hearing the news Mrs. Mallard was sad and wept with despair. Mrs. Mallard went to be alone and retreated to her room. In the story a comparison is made when Mrs. Mallard was in her room and the differences of the comfy chair that Mrs. Mallard sought solace in, and the physical exhaustions that hearing of death plays on opposite sides of the spectrums. In death, in the form of tragedy, there is no comfort. Often people are left with holes and what if’s. Death in the form of illness usually shows comfort. In the story, there is a conflict of comfort and exhaustion.

To begin, as mentioned earlier, the stories took place in the Victorian era. Both women were stuck in societal ways of how women should act in a marriage. Through the use of setting, the author allows readers to understand societal relationship dynamics. In “The Story of an Hour” the setting took place in Mrs. Mallard’s home. Mrs. Mallard was confined inside the home while her husband was away at work. Already the author shows how she submissive in her marriage. The author of “The Story of an Hour” showed through his reading that even if a wife did not care to be married, she stayed. Mrs. Mallard was in a marriage that she no longer wanted to be in, but due to societal standards divorce was a no good so she stuck it out. “Her fancy was running riot along those days