Symbolism as Found in Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour Essay

In life, everyone has experienced the loss of someone they loved, and the way the greave can show their true motivations. In Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard is left without a husband but her form of grief is different than mosts.

Immediately after the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard races upstairs into her room where she settles into “a comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4). The armchair symbolizes the rest from the oppressive life she had and freedom from society's expectations. Since it was tradition for women to be married by a certain age, Louise Mallard must have obligated to marry Brently. Sitting in the armchair, she gazes out of the window and starts indulges in deep thought, which establishes her as an intelligent individual.

The reader might question as to why Mrs. Mallard’s feelings towards her husband’s death change so quickly. Was she previously unaware of the “subtle and elusive” (227) thoughts that made her believe that this death might be a blessing in disguise? Mrs. Mallard, before her husband’s death, had a romanticized view of her marriage. While she believed she loved Brently and was happy, after his death she became aware of the freedom she would now experience without a controlling husband. The “powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence” (228) would no longer be present. Mrs. Mallard was aware of her yearnings of independence and joy, but would never voice them while locked into her marriage with Brantley. While at first, it may seem as Mrs. Mallard was unaware of these feelings, the death of her husband was just the catalyst that allowed her deepest feelings to be revealed and her dreams of independence to finally

Louise Mallard is the protagonist of The Story of an Hour. The entire story is about her preservation. Chopin portrays Mrs. Mallard as a woman who is in deep suffering. She is not only suffering from a marriage she is not happy with, but she is also suffering from her medical condition. As if she had not suffered enough, she also puts a threat to her own life. We see this when Josephine is knocking on her door while she refuses to open it (Chopin). What is unknown to Josephine however is that her sister is in fact not suffering but savoring the moment.

Mallard’s sad reaction, after she ponders on her initial emotions by herself, she learns that the relationship with her husband becomes irrelevant to the wonderful feelings of individual freedom. Initially, Mrs. Mallard grieves upon hearing her husband’s death. As the story progresses, Mrs. Mallard begins to develop her true emotions towards the death of her husband after reflecting in her room alone. Finally, Mrs. Mallard’s initial feelings of sadness are overpowered by her discovery of the feelings of freedom. In conclusion, although individuals may react dramatically when facing a sad situation, their emotions may change as a result of the discovery of a previously unknown feeling of

Cunningham’s belief on how the story ended varies from many other critic’s opinions. He points out how a great amount of readers believe the death of Mrs. Mallard was caused by her seeing Mr. Mallard walk through the door of their house, after receiving the news of his death in a train accident (par. 1). However, Cunningham states he does not believe Louise Mallard even saw Brently Mallard at all, and the cause of death was not from the shock of seeing him. In fact, he claims, “I believe that Louise does not see him… cause of her death lies elsewhere: in the joy… more ‘monstrous’ than Louise seems

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.

Richard was too late. “…She had died of heart disease- of joy that kills.” (Chopin, 58) In the short story “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin tells a story of women confined in a repressive marriage and uses a literary element called foreshadowing to add suspense or tension in the story and hints about things that will occur later in the story. Literary devices include imagery, foreshadowing, plot, setting, and point of view. The combination of these literary devices allows authors to effectively convey what message will be in the story. The literary device called Foreshadowing plays a significant role in the short story as well as other literary devices such as imagery and symbolism which combine and create a unique way of how the story unfolds.

In Kate Chopin’s 1894 short story The Story of an Hour, a woman processes the announcement of her husband’s death. The story revolves around Louise Mallard, a young, pretty woman who has just received word that her husband, Brently Mallard, died in a train accident. Upon receiving the news from her sister Josephine, Louise immediately bursts into tears, an emotional display that, once spent, prompts her to retreat to her bedroom. After a time, Louise repeats her emotional outburst—this time with excitement at the idea she will be able to live her own life. However, Louise’s joy is cut short when her husband, having been nowhere near the accident, arrives home. Her disappointment is so profound she dies.

At the beginning of the story no one wished to tell Mrs. Mallard about the death of her husband due to her heart condition. Her heart trouble is a symbol for the way she feels crushed or hurt by her marriage. During this time period women were expected to live under the control of their husbands, so while being married to Brently, she begins to lose her identity. In the story, she is only referred to as Mrs. Mallard she isn’t referred to as Louise until after her husband’s death. She is an accessory to her husband is forced to live in the shadow of her husband and as a result of this she has lost herself over the years. Louise’s character is used as a symbol to represent the women of this time period and show the sacrifices they make for their husbands and the troubles that come along with the inequalities they experience in marriage.

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

Throughout the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses imagery and symbolism with several different objects to further the theme and plot. Since the use of symbolism helps bring depth to the story without focusing on too much detail, readers can acquire a more complex idea on what they believe the author tries to convey throughout the story. As Chopin executes an underlying message behind her signs, she also reveals new traits and meanings of her character, Mrs. Mallard. Despite Chopin’s use of several symbols to advance the storyline, the open window exemplifies not only Mrs. Mallard’s realization of her new-found freedom, but her hope and happiness as well.

The death of the main character Louise Mallard is a commonly debated topic when discussing “The Story of an Hour.” In Mark Cunningham’s article “The Autonomous Female Self and the Death of Louise Mallard in Kate Chopin’s ‘Story of an Hour’” he makes arguments for the common interpretations of Mrs. Mallards death. He states that “it is critical commonplace” to assume that the sight of her husband alive kills her (n.p.). Even though the story never directly states that Mrs. Mallard sees her husband, it is easier for ones brain to jump to the conclusion that her

husband’s death was one of sorrow. This is relatable to any person when hearing of a

Next, Mrs. Mallard was a woman who suffered from the times where women were treated with less value and importance. She lost her own life because rejoice at her husband’s tragedy. Her uncontrollable desire to be free made her become a frivolous woman, who let his personal longing’s end with his own life. When she realized that her husband was alive all his plans vanished. Her happiness was a temporary happiness which lasted less than an hour.