Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

“The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin is about woman who heart problems and what happens when she learns the sudden death of her husband. She has an unknown desire to be independent, which she finally feels through her stages of grief at her husband’s reported death. Mrs. Mallard has a internal conflict because of her desire to be independent VS society’s role for women feelings of being oppressed through her marriage VS. a desire for freedom.

The short story The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin, describes a woman conflicted with the death of her husband and her outlook on life after his assumed passing. Through the story, Chopin shows the transformation of Mrs. Mallard from that of an ordinary wife to that of a woman cherishing her newfound freedom. Although Mrs. Mallard is deeply saddened at the news of her husband’s passing, she finally begins to feel a sense of relief and witnesses what it means for her as a woman. Just as she begins to fully cherish her life, she is horrified at the sight of her “dead” husband’s return and proceeds to perish. Through the use of imagery and syntax, Chopin illustrates the interchanging psychoanalytic perspective of an individual following a personal loss.

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.

I chose to do my analysis on the short story, “The Story Of An Hour”. The themes I see in this story is the quest for identity/coming of age, romantic/love, birth, and death. It is about a woman named Mrs. Mallard. She was an elderly lady and had a heart complications. Her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards had to break the news to her that her husband, Brently Mallard, has been killed in a railroad disaster. Mrs. Mallard was sorrowful and sobbed in her sisters’ arms. After her grieving process, she wanted to be alone, so she went to her room and locked herself in. As she sat in the window, she seem to be calmer and accepted her husband’s death. She was not distressed of what had happened. She began to say the words “free” and her heart

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.

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.

For different circumstances, some may feel the need to conceal what they truly feel inside. Some may do this to fit into the norms of society or as to not become an outcast. An internal conflict with identity is the protagonist in, "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, Louise and “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. In “The Story of an Hour” which took place in the late 1800s, Louise known for having heart trouble believes her husband has tragically died in a railroad accident and is secretly relieved with her newly found freedom. However, once she finds out that her husband is alive, Louise passes away from the shock of having her freedom stripped as fast as it was given to her.

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 "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.

In this life, there’s nothing more important than freedom. In Kate Chopin’s story, “Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard discovers that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. Louise is shocked and sad, and goes to her bedroom so she can be by herself. As she sits by the window in her room, she realizes she’s free to do whatever she wants, and doesn’t have to submit to anyone’s wants, needs, or will. Later that same day, Louise sees her husband, alive and well, downstairs. The instant she saw him, she died of what the doctors say was heart disease and joy. Even though the character’s think otherwise, Louise died of disappointment that she wasn’t free anymore. The characters, especially Louise, show that only freedom can make you happy, not love. While the story is interesting, it contains a larger meaning. In Kate Chopin’s piece, “Story of an Hour,” the theme that autonomy shouldn’t be replaced for love is illustrated by the character’s thoughts and experiences.

Freedom Gained, only to be Stripped Away “The Story of the Hour” written by the author Kate Chopin, displays many themes throughout her short story. One of the most evident being, marriage and the untold feeling numerous women subconsciously have towards it. The main character of the story, Mrs. Mallard is hit with a sense of “joy” and freedom” upon learning the death of her husband. When she realizes he isn’t dead, that joy is stripped away from her and she knows that the freedom she had for a short second is now gone. This overwhelming disappointment, being too much for her to handle, kills Mrs. Mallard.

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.

The focus of the “The Story of an Hour” is on Mrs. Mallard, who is the quaint and seemed to be frail women with a heart condition. Mrs. Mallard is told that her husband was killed in a tragic train accident. As she processes this devastating news, she realizes that she is free from the chains of her marriage. That she can finally be the woman

“The Story of an Hour” tells the story about Mrs. Mallard, who learns that her husband is dead and right after that faces a great variety of emotions and feelings. Mrs. Mallard has a heart problem. One day she gets news that her husband has died in a railroad disaster. She starts crying at once, goes upstairs and locks herself in her room. She feels very lonely at first but then she starts feeling happy and free from her marriage. After some time she opens the door and descends the stairs. She surprisingly sees Mr. Mallard at the door. When she looks at Mr. Mallard, she dies suddenly. The doctor says that she dies of her heart disease, from the "joy that kills." This story illustrates the dependent condition and status of married women in the 19th century and reveals the fact that there is no way of escaping from marriage except one’s death.