Story Of An Hour Critical Analysis

In the “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, is about pleasure of freedom and the oppression of marriage. Just like in Kate Chopin’s story, inside most marriages, even the ones that seem to be the happiest, one can be oppressed. Even though, one might seem to be happy deep inside they miss the pleasure of freedom and living life to the fullest. Just like, in this story Mrs. Mallard feels trapped and when she hears about her husband’s death she first feels distraught, but ultimately realizes that she has gained her freedom. This news leads her to an inner battle within herself, as she tries to keep those feelings from coming out. The story culminates when she dies of a heart attack, because she realizes that her husband is not dead and she would be returning to her old pointless existence. This story has many great literary elements that keep the story interesting throughout its plot, by using great foreshadowing and symbolism.

Everyone has lost a loved one or has seen and experienced a situation in which another person has lost their loved one. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, published in 1894, details that moment in a woman's life when her world is shattered and the process of self-consciousness begins. Louise Mallard, wife of Richard Mallard, a successful businessman. Louise Mallard is a woman ahead of her time, by the standards of the 1890’s she should be happy. Her husband loves her; she herself acknowledges that he “had never looked save with love upon her.”(Chopin, p.477) In the 1890’s women depended on their husbands financially. There was an unspoken rule that the man was the powerful one, the wife would conform to the

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.

Setting in a story can create certain moods, influence the way we feel about a character, and change the reader's perceptions. “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story about a woman named Mrs. Mallard, who learns of her husband’s death. This tragic news causes a range of emotions and internal conflict for the main character. The century, season, and room, in which the story takes place, prepares readers for the overflowing emotions and gives clarity to the character’s frame of mind. Kate Chopin uses the setting to help set the structure of the story.

How would one feel to hear the news of a significant other or loved one who has passed away due to an accident? The news is heartbreaking and rather unimaginable. “Sorry to say but your husband has died due to an accident.” No one wants to hear those words or go through the painful time. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin’s, the death of her husband meant freedom and happiness. Chopin’s uses a great deal of symbolism throughout the story in order to depict the theme of freedom and happiness.

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

In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes the series of emotions a married woman with a heart condition, Mrs. Mallard, endures after hearing about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard. She assumes that she will be a mournful widow, but she ends up silently rejoicing. It turns out that she was not happily married and the thought of freedom from her attachments of marriage gave her

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin has many different analyses. One analysis being that the main character Louise Mallard, truly begins to feel freedom over her life. Critics often argue about Louise Mallard’s humanity and consider her a bad person because of her reaction to her husband’s death. Chopin only describes this brief hour of Louise’s life, leaving the readers in the unknown about her marriage with her husband. Given the literary evidence “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. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination” (The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin) you can see that Louise almost despised her marriage, but why? In this essay we will look at different ways to prove Louise Mallard was a good person just in the wrong marriage, whether it was a bad marriage, or she just felt trapped.

Freedom and control are concepts everyone wishes to possess, but some struggle to obtain them. For example in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin the main character is told that her controlling and repressive husband has died in a train accident. At first she sobs like a small child and hides in her room, but she soon realizes she is free to live a life for herself. With her newfound happiness, she returns downstairs right as her husband, alive and well, is walking through the front door. Mrs. Mallard is said to have died “of a joy that kills” (qtd. in Meyer 16). Another example of a struggle to obtain freedom is in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. The main character, Emily, is controlled by her father. After her father passes away she is desperate for a loving relationship. Her last

In Mark Twain words, “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination”, Being sane is defined as someone who is rational and behaves normal. In the selection “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, Miss. Emily is seen as someone who lacks sanity and is portrayed as an insane woman, but content with her introverted life. On the other hand, we have Mrs. Mallard from “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, who is a married woman but she lacks true happiness in her life. These two selections show that rationality and happiness is an impossible thing to achieve in a world where women are oppressed and beneath men. Secrets are held deep inside them, and in the end no one knows the truth behind them. Furthermore, both of these women shared a common origin of their problem; however, their outlook on life, their actions, and their surroundings are

“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.

“Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin, a short story that eliminates the thought that true tragic stories can only be achievable if the protagonist is a man of high estate. This short story exhibits the effects that a superficial marriage can have on a woman and exudes pathos from the audience, an essential quality of a tragic story. Mrs. Louis Mallard, unable to extricate or relieve herself from this relationship, she endures it and this takes a severe toll on her mental and physical wellbeing, this is represents her hamartia as she does not possess the self-confidence required to stand up for herself. Furthermore, the plot of a tragic story must be in close proximity to Aristotle’s ideology and the tragic hero must meet with an untimely demise which is in parallel to the main story line. “Story of an Hour” is a tragic short story with all the qualities and attributes that both Aristotle and Shakespeare write with. It possesses a key aspect of a tragedy, which is having a tragic hero that evokes pity and is burdened with a tragic flaw. Moreover, this story follows many of the other elements of a tragic story such as catharsis and the recognition of potential.

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.

In “The Story of An Hour,” by Kate Chopin, the protagonist Mrs. Mallard, finds out that her husband Brently dies in a train wreck. However, the way that she deals with this news is much different than most people. Mrs. Mallard suffers from a previous heart condition and the people around her are very careful how they relay the message of her husband’s death. Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her room to give herself a chance to process the news. However, when she emerges from her room and makes her way downstairs again, her husband suddenly walks through the door. The shock of her husband’s return from the dead, coupled with her heart condition, results in her sudden death. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour,” Mrs. Mallard embodies a typical woman living in the 19th century through her struggles of being forced into a marriage, her lack of freedom, and having no legal rights.

“The Story of an Hour” was written by Kate Chopin in 1894 and it shows how an individual can have personal conflict in their life without being aware that it even exists until certain situations arise (Kirszner & Mandel, 2012). The story consists of different elements that provide the reader with the necessary facts to make it the best short story that we have read in class this week. A couple of those factors include the conflict that exists within Mrs. Mallard personally and the symbolism that is needed to explain her emotions. The author’s creative ability to provide a short story with such detail gives the reader a sense of what this character felt during this emotional period. While the main character was mourning the death of her husband, the grieving process was being overshadowed by the freedom that she thought she had been given.