Story Of An Hour Isolationism

In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” allows one to explore many ironic instances throughout the story, the main one in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate the struggles of reaching personal freedom and trying to be true to yourself to reach self-assertion while being a part of something else, like a marriage. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husband, yet Chopin uses several ironic situations and certain symbols to criticize the behavior of Mrs. Mallard during the time of her “loving” husband’s assumed death.

When her husband is killed in a train accident Mrs. Mallard cries, but for different reasons than would be expected. She is sad for her husband’s death, but, moreover, she is overcome with joy. For now she is free. No one recognizes her true emotions because women fall apart when their spouse dies; it’s required. Marriage is portrayed as a life sentence. "She said it over and over again under her breath: ‘free, free, free!' Her pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body"(1). Mrs. Mallard was relieved that her husband died for she thought her sentence was over. When she realized that he was still alive, and therefore she was still committed to the marriage, she died from the shock and horror of being trapped.

Immediately after Mrs. Mallard receives the news about her husband she races to her room where she sits in “ a comfortable, armchair”. The chair symbolizes her oppressive life she had and freedom from society’s expectations. Since it was a tradition to be married by a certain age their marriage was probably planned. So she may have been obligated to marry Bentley. Sitting in the chair and looking out the window Mrs. Mallard starts to indulge in her thoughts. An open window is also a form of her freedom. Her paying attention to the blue sky, and describing it as a blue sky, big clouds, tree tops and the smell of fresh rain. By describing all the senses imagery was also being used the image representing on how she imagined her new life without her husband. The open window is a symbol for her bright future and her husband that won 't be there anymore to change her decisions. Imagery is shown throughout the story by showing how

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.

She illustrates the issue first through Mr. Mallard’s death that creates his wife’s mixed feelings of grief and happiness (Chopin 429). According to Mrs. Mallard, the positive part of the story resides in the fact that she acquires her freedom and self-esteem back long years after engaging in her marriage which she indirectly describes as a state of imprisonment with a person she has to be submissive to. The irony comes towards the end with the narrator mentioning “a joy that kills” (Chopin 429). When Mr. Mallard actually crosses the door, Chopin describes the wife so shocked by his return that she immediately surrenders to death from desolation and despair (Chopin 429). His sudden yet unexpected return washes away the brief moment of freedom she dreams of in front of the window, that leads her to take the initiative to strive for it after his death. Frustrated and determined to make a difference, Chopin’s intent for creating such a tragic story resides once again in her will to relate her personal struggles from being “restrained under Catholic dogma at home” (Snodgrass) to her writings about the “revolt against double standard” (Snodgrass). She also wishes to continue supporting women of her time by showing the struggles in their battles for freedom and independence from men’s

When Mrs. Mallard opened the door for her sister she saw her husband at the bottom of the stairwell. When she noticed that her husband Brentley hasn’t died. She burst into joy but with a lot of mixed feelings. She thought she found a way to freedom but that was cut short by the return of her husband. After Brentley heard about the tragic accident. He realized that the accident could have happened to him and he could have lost his life. He thought about the fact that he could never see his wife again. He showed her love and affection because the fear of losing her and leaving her alone with her heart problems would have destroyed him. Brentley would have never wanted her to live alone with her heart condition. He showed her unconditional love

"What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” (Chopin). The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin is a third person story that takes place in the late 1800’s when women were viewed as being below men in all aspects of their lives. Furthermore, the female protagonist name Mrs.Mallard is a young woman with heart trouble who is known to be very dependent on her “dead” husband Brently Mallard. Along with the Mallards, there are two supporting characters, Mrs.Mallard’s caring sister Josephine and Richard who is a friend of Josephine. That case being, the story’s deep meaning is that sometimes the loss of someone isn’t necessarily

In the beginning the narrator describes Mrs. Mallard a caring wife who feels sad for the death of her husband. The people, close to her were reluctant to tell her the news of her husband’s death as they thought it would lead to her heart failure. Later, when she realized that she is actually much better off without her husband and would start enjoying her life. Although she loved her husband, but the feeling of being independent made her happier. This made the reader think about Mrs. Mallard’s as a different person. Another surprise for

In “ A Story of an Hour’” Kate Chopin shows that women can be oppressed by the institution of marriage. In a man’s world a women's only way of freedom is through the man in their life. not for all woman, but some the idea of marriage is not ideal. Due to the death of Mr. Mallard you find that Mrs. Mallard experiences a sense of optimism instead of mourning her husband's death. Then she is overcome not by sadness but a certain joy. Just to have it all taken from her in the split of a second.

Mrs. Mallard is finally free from her husband’s shadow and has now become an individual person. She is standing in front of her window and spring has arrived as seen in the quote, “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.” (Chopin 14 ) In this quote, her husband’s death represents the end of winter and her new freedom represents spring. Mrs. Mallard has left the shadow of her husband to become a real

The story, “The Story of An Hour” was written by Kate Chopin. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850. She wrote several stories for kids and adults. The story took place in Mr. Louis’ and Mrs. Mallard’s home in nineteen century. The major characters of the story were Mr. Louis the husband of Mrs. Mallard, Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister and Mr. Richards, Mr. Louis’ friend. The conflicts were between Mrs. Mallard and her husband Mr. Louis.

As the story begins, Mrs. Mallard is just told the news of her husband dying in a railroad accident. She is not paralyzed by grief with the inability to accept the news; she wept suddenly. She became overwhelmed with this feeling that began to possess her. The feeling was one of living for no one but herself in the years to come. There would be no one trying to impose their will onto her, and she welcomed that. Mrs. Mallard, at first, is extremely grief-stricken but soon realizes the pleasures of independence.

Mrs. Mallard previews her future without her beloved husband, her open bedroom window serves as a portal to the life that she now will lead, she can gaze and ponder about her future, a large part of the story is spent in front of the window basking in the glory of the freedom and opportunities that await her after her husband 's death. From the window, Louise sees blue sky, fluffy clouds, and treetops. She hears birds singing and smells a coming rainstorm. Louise through her senses suggests joy and spring; new life. The open window provides a clear, bright view into the distance and Mrs. Mallard 's own bright future, which is now unobstructed by the demands and the ties to another person.

The writer Kate Chopin made use of such particular stylistic features and structures that made her short story more dramatic. “The Story of an Hour” is a story about Mrs. Mallard who imagined a life of freedom upon the news of her husband’s death but ironically she dies when her dead husband comes back alive. Although this story is really short, it is very ironic and thorough. It leaves a powerful impact upon the readers. The story is divided in multiple paragraphs and every expression in it has its own significance and makes profound sense to the readers while conveying a meaningful message. The story goes around an hour of Mrs. Mallard’s life. We come to know about her inconsiderate marriage where she has to sacrifice her own desires in order to be called an obedient wife. Mrs. Mallard represents those women who felt demented by their marriage and wanted to achieve something extraordinary from life. To

Author, Kate Chopin, presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. Finally, she recognizes the freedom she has desired for a long time and it overcomes her sorrow: "Free! Body and soul free! She kept whispering." In her soul, the dark clouds are disappearing because she is illuminated. All the memories of her husband are now of the past. She is living in the present. At this point, she is no longer "Mrs.Mallard." She is Louise and is ready to welcome a new horizon of freedom : "Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own." Overwhelmed with a new sense of herself, she feels as if she