Story Of An Hour Critical Analysis

Written in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” is a story of a woman who, through the erroneously reported death of her husband, experienced true freedom. Both tragic and ironic, the story deals with the boundaries imposed on women by society in the nineteenth century. The author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had first-hand experience with the male-dominated society of that time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age (Internet). The similarity between Kate Chopin and her heroine can only leave us to wonder how much of this story is fiction and how much is personal experience.

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

In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin demonstrates her ability to show characters’ drastic changes in personality and mentality through their way of thinking. Chopin’s protaggonist, Mrs. Mallard is suffering from the news of Mr. Mallard’s death, but her feelings are changing throughout the story. Mrs. Mallard is a feeble wife, who undergoes the grief of her husband’s death, finds relief and freedom, and for that she becomes a strong and independent woman. The story greets it’s readers with Mrs. Mallard’s fragility.

In "The story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the complex character, Mrs. Mallard, In a most unusual manner. THe reader is led to believe that her husband has been killed in a railway accident. The other characters in the story are worried about how to break the news to her; they know whe suffers from a heart condition, and they fear for her health. On the surface, the story appears to be about how Mrs. Mallard deals with the news of the death of her husband. On a deeper level, however, the story is about the feeling of intense joy that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she realizes that she is free from the influences of her husband and the consequences of

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.

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” focuses on a woman named Louise Mallard and her reaction to finding out about her husband’s death. The descriptions that the author uses in the story have significance in the plot because they foreshadow the ending.

The short-story “The Story of an Hour” is written by Kate Chopin. This story is about a married woman named, Louise Mallard, who learns about her husband’s death, and through the poem she discovers the positives of this incident. She gradually learns the restrictions that have been lifted and the new opportunities that arise due to her husband’s death, however, the story ends by her getting a heart attack when she sees her husband still alive, the story throughout is written in third-person point of view. Furthermore, Chopin believes that marriage can be very restrictive on woman because of the dominant role the male plays in the relationship and this is shown through the tone and literary features of the poem. First, the tone of the poem

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.

Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"--which takes only a few minutes to read--has an ironic ending: Mrs. Mallard dies just when she is beginning to live. On first reading, the ending seems almost too ironic for belief. On rereading the story, however, one sees that the ending is believable partly because it is consistent with the other ironies in the story.

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” narrates a wife’s discovery of her husband’s death and her fatal reaction to this false revelation. Josephine and Richards take caution in telling Louise Mallard about the news of Mr. Mallard’s death because she has a frail heart. In lament of her husband’s death, she storms into her room while expressing her great grief. As she looks out the window of her bedroom, she sees a scenic spring day and is engulfed with a wave of joy in realization that she is free from her husband. In the midst of her newfound happiness, Brently Mallard appears at the frontdoor unscathed. When she sees him, Louise’s heart fails her and she dies. Chopin conveys that the deprivation of freedom and can cause a subconscious imprisonment

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short yet complex story, describing Mrs Mallard’s feelings. It focuses on the unfolding emotional state of Mrs Mallard after the news of her husbands death, and has overflowing symbolism and imagery. It is an impressive literary piece that touches the readers’ feelings and mind and allows the reader to have a connection to Mrs Mallard’s emotional process. Although the story is short, it is complete with each word carrying deep sense and meaning. It is written in the 19th century, a time that had highly restrictive gender roles that forbade women to live as they saw fit. Mrs Mallard experiences something not everyone during this time has the luck to have; the happiness of freedom that the reader only

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.

“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.” Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is the story of a woman’s reaction to the news of her husband’s passing. Mrs. Louise Mallard is a young woman most would conclude to be saddened by the passing of her husband. Yet it is in that very moment we find her true feelings.

“Kate Chopin, a wise and worldly woman, had refined the craft of fiction... to the point where it could face her strong inner theme of the female rebellion and see it through to a superb female work” (Ziff 24). In Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” a recurring theme is the oppressive nature of relationships in the nineteenth century. Upon the death of her husband Louise Mallard has an epiphany that brings her to realize that the loss of her husband is actually quite freeing. This contradicts the expected response to such a tragic circumstance, and contributes to Chopin’s idea of relationships, however loving or good-natured, being inherently oppressive. Chopin’s short story showcases through the characterization of Mrs. Mallard, her thoughts and actions after her husband’s death, and the subsequent revelation of her oppression, that marriage in the 19th century was restrictive and misogynistic.

“The Story Of An Hour,” by Kate Chopin, is a short story about a woman who is mourning the death of her husband at the beginning of the story. She finds out that he’s dead from a misleading newspaper article. Suddenly a overwhelming feeling of happiness surrounds her aura and she is enlightened. It was an experience that some would say a self realization, she was not happy with the marriage she is trapped in and was content of the fall of her husband. Even though a woman without her man is seen as dependent and not very respectable, it didn’t bother her. She was free and that’s all that mattered to her. As the story goes on Louise the wife who has lost her husband wasn’t able to compose her emotion, too much was happening to a woman with a weak heart . As the story comes to an end there is a sudden knock on the door, Louise was on her knees and in terrible shape. Surprisely, at the door was Louise’s husband. Louise had a fragile heart and couldn’t take the pressure she was dealt with, it turns out her heart died at the sight of her own husband. Chopin portrays how oppressive the patriarchal expectations were for women at the time.