Marriage Doesn’t Always Mean Love in “The Story of an Hour”
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.
"The Story of an
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I would think that if my spouse had just died in a tragic railroad accident, I would not want the news told to me in the same manner the weather report is. That is why I feel that the whole idea of "heart trouble" that afflicts Mrs. Mallard has more to do with a mental ailment, and the lack of love for her husband.
Mrs. Mallard finds out that her husband has just died, "she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment." The character of Josephine is there to represent her conflict against society. As the story starts up, she as Mrs. Mallard turns to her sister Josephine and weeps in her arms after hearing the sudden news of her husband's death. This is her acknowledging the grief that society expects her to feel. Her openness to Josephine represents the acceptance that came with acting in accordance with what society expected. Mrs. Mallard displays her strength, “When the storm of grief … away to her room alone.” The fact that she does not bring Josephine with her implies the conflict that is about to take place." Josephine is the social norms, assuming that she is weak without her husband by her side. Mrs. Mallard's isolation from this assumption represents that she has strength and can stand on her own. This expected strength is confirmed as Chopin writes, "Josephine was kneeling … lips to the keyhole”, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! … before you make yourself ill." The closed door to Josephine shows her decision to close her
The doubt and misconstruction placed upon the women in the stories is a huge factor in the way their characters develop. Mrs. Mallard's sickness was misdiagnosed by both her family and doctor. They believed she suffered from heart problems but no evidence of this was produced during the story. When Mrs. Mallard was up in her room, her sister, Josephine, was worried that Mrs. Mallard would make herself ill because she was alone and suffering from her husband's death. Chopin gives the reader an insight as to Mrs. Mallard's thoughts by using a third person limited omniscient narrator, and by doing so, allows the reader to understand that Mrs. Mallard's family's ideas of her health were false. Near the end of the story the doctors and Mrs. Mallard's family believe that she has had a heart attack because she was happy to see that her husband was alive, while in actuality, she died because didn't want to live if she had to live with him.
The story of an Hour by Chopin is about Louise Mallard desire for freedom. Throughout her life Mrs. Mallard was incapable to leave her home due to a heart illness. The doctor explained how although a sudden shock could kill Louise she would be able to leave the house. Louise was beyond happy to finally be given the chance to leave her home. Brently Mallard did everything in his power to stop her from leaving by using the sickness as a justification. Mr. Mallard would only dedicate little time and affection to his wife. The newspaper had reported a railroad disaster in which Brently Mallard’s name appeared. Louise sister’s Josephine and Brently’s friend knowing of her heart condition gently broke the devastating news to her.
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.
When Mrs. Mallard hears the news of her husband’s death she weeps and feels abandoned while she falls
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.
Mrs. Mallard is a woman that is suffering in marriage. We realize that she was not very optimistic about her married life. The night prior to the "death" of her husband, she had quietly prayed for her life to be short. She had reached a point of disillusionment and would gladly welcome death as an option out of the marriage. When she learns that her husband had perished in the train accident, she first reacts by
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
In this reading, the narrator talks about the reaction of Mrs. Millard who had heart problems, when she notices of her husband´s death. Louise Mallard is at home with her sister Josephine, when they hear of a rain accident; then Josephine tells Louise that her husband has been killed it in the accident.
Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble is symbolic of her broken relationship with her husband, Brently. Of all the possible health issues that Mrs. Mallard could have been battling, it is heart trouble that she if faced with. It is noted that Josephine speaks “in broken sentences; veiled hints” (Chopin, “The Story”), so that the news of Brently’s death is revealed to Mrs. Mallard as carefully as possible. However, the news of her husband’s death actually brings a new life to Mrs. Mallard: “Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (Chopin, “The Story”). Mrs. Mallard’s marriage has confined her to her home and has caused the loss of her freedom, which is represented by her heart trouble. Her death is not caused by the joy of seeing her husband like the doctors thought, but rather due to a loss of joy, as she loses her newly found independence upon seeing Brently walk through the front door. Chopin shares: “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills” (“The Story”). The window in Mrs. Mallard’s bedroom also serves as an important symbol in the story, representing Mrs. Mallard’s freedom. Upon seeing the beauty throughout the streets as she looks out her window, Mrs. Mallard is finally able to realize that the rest of her life is full of countless possibilities (Rosenblum,
When first reading Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour," one may not typically be surprised at its ending, write it off as one of those creepy "back from the dead" horror stories and forget about it. There is more to this story than simply horror. The author is making a very strong, however subtle, statement towards humanity and women's rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin shows how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a loving partnership.
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.
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a very interesting story that prevails various tones of narrator through out the story. Chopin has written story in mysterious, dramatic and ironic tone which makes the story very interesting.
The Story of an hour written by Kate Chopin is the best short-story because theme, characters, point of view, and style show the attitude that some women felt or may feel regarding marriage being repressive in their life and a longing for freedom. The story opens with Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine informing her that her husband has been killed. Because of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition Josephine and Richards, who is a friend of the family and there to help deliver the news, are concerned with how the news will affect Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard hears the news to is over taken with grief and locks herself in her room. While in her room she imagines herself in her new life that is no longer bogged down by her duties as a wife. When
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.