The Story Of An Hour, By The Yellow Wallpaper, And Trifles

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.

Women in history stood best known for a less ascendant sex in the mid-nineteen centuries. Since times have gone by women had fought for their equal rights and freedom. There had been many stereotypes, where the women were considered as a slave to the men’s because the women’s position was to be the homemakers and a mother to their children, while the men’s are out socializing with others. If they were not happy with the marriage, they cannot just walk out or complain because a women role is to endure all these pains without a word coming out of their mouths. Two out of the ordinary short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of An Hour,” mostly focused on a women’s dilemma that they faced near the 19th century. The two main characters in the short stories show some resemblances in some ways, but both characters portrayed them in different ways of how they dealt their sorrows in their marriages.

In ‘The Story of an Hour’ the struggles and hardships of women in day to day life are conveyed. In ‘The Story of an Hour’, Chopin implies that marriage, even when

Kate Chopin is known for being criticized for empowering the subject of female sexuality and independence. In Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, it is placed in a time where men were known as being the head of the household while women were only in charge of raising the children and caring for the home. In the 1890s, women didn’t have so much power to themselves compared to today’s society where female empowerment is frequently encouraged. Chopin’s story narrates a sequence of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions that goes within the motion of the story. As she overcomes the sudden death of her husband, her emotion of grief soon turns into the sudden feeling of freedom, later on emerging into a strong independent woman.

Angelyn Mitchell interprets Chopin’s work “The Story of an Hour” as a feminist piece of work. She believes that Chopin wants to prove the double conscience of females, which is when women connect their inner self with their outside and gain freedom. “In ‘The Story of an Hour,’ the quest for freedom is complicated by three important factors: biological determination, patriarchal social conditioning, and the patriarchal institution of marriage.” Mitchell uses Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition to show biological determination. “Richards, a friend of her husband, rushes to relate the sad news of his death before someone ‘less careful, less tender’ can do so.” Patriarchal social conditioning is shown by showing that Mrs. Mallard does not act as a woman

In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the main character (Mrs.Mallard) is a married woman. Mrs.Mallard was afflicted with a “heart problem”. The author was not very specific about her troubled heart, which seemed to be a symbol of not just physical, but emotional distress as well.

In the novels written by Charlotte Gilman and Kate Chopin, the concept of marriage is contradicted from the romanticized relationship to a notion of imprisonment. Through the feminist perspective the reader gains a sense in which marriage may be the primary cause to gender oppression. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman’s central figure, who is unknown to the reader, is metaphorically imprisoned in a house in which the warden is her own husband. In contrast to this Chopin’s Character, Louise Mallard, gains a sense of liberation from a bleak marriage. It is clear that there two works illustrate how the characters are imprisoned through marriage. In both works there is a fine-line between the concept of domesticity and masculinity that ties

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

In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes the series of emotions a married woman with a heart condition, Mrs. Mallard, endures after hearing about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard. She assumes that she will be a mournful widow, but she ends up silently rejoicing. It turns out that she was not happily married and the thought of freedom from her attachments of marriage gave her

Patriarchal ideals in “Story of an Hour” enforce the inferiority of women, and breaking the patriarchy liberates womankind. Kate Chopin sheds light on the deadly results that patriarchy can bring. From the very first line, patriarchal ideals are expressed by letting the reader know that “Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, [and] great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin). Mrs. Mallard is too feeble to hear of her husband’s death, and keeping this news from her means that her truth is being withheld. While not explicit, this is an example of patriarchy at work. Mrs. Mallard is not strong enough for her truth, so a man must tell her sister, who then tells Mrs. Mallard. This extensive filtration supports the notion that women are inferior because they cannot handle the stress of bad news. In a turn of expectations, Mrs. Mallard sees the news of her husband’s death as a beacon of liberation. By her lonesome, Mrs. Mallard assures herself that “there would be no one to live for during those coming years [after her husband’s death]; she would live for herself.” (Chopin). Patriarchy laid down upon Mrs. Mallard so much that the breaking of it frees her. She discovers her truth for herself, not a filtered truth by a man, which is a result of the patriarchal forces in her life being dissolved.

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

“The Story of an Hour” is one of many short stories written by Kate Chopin. I believe there are numerous symbols in this story, but the one I think stands out the most for me is Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble. The first line of the story starts out with “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble.” (Chopin 1) While this can be read as physical heart troubles, the more you read into the story, it reflects on emotional heart trouble as well. If you take the statement by Mrs. Mallard, “Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering, (Chopin 2) it reflects that her heart and soul are free from the strains for her husband. In the end her emotional heart trouble was so great, she could not overcome the site of her husband and the

In Kate Chopin’s short story, “the story of an hour”, she sheds light on the entrapment women feel when in a marriage through a young married woman named Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband’s death, and within an hour goes through a mixture of feelings before her ironic death. She starts off feeling devastated upon arrival of the horrific news, but later begins to realize the freedom she has in being a widow, and becomes exhilarated. The joy, and excitement she has of being able to be independent eventually leads to her death due to depression from her husband still being alive, and Mrs. Mallard realizing that her jovial feeling of liberation was only a mere dream. Mrs. Mallard’s reaction in the story of an hour contradicts Kate Chopin’s societal norms because women in that time period were expected to be content in with their gender roles as submissive wives to their husbands; however, for a wife to be excited of news of her husband’s death, which would free her from living under his rule, would have been considered devious in the eyes of that society.

At the end of 19th century, American society presented an ideology of patriarchy. Feminists struggle for the equality and discrimination against female. As feminist movement started, lots of female writers were explored. One of the most famous writers is Kate Chopin. Her works mostly present a theme of women pursue freedom and equality. “The Story Of An Hour” and “The Awakening” are her representative works. In these two works, Kate Chopin reveals how women lived under the oppression of male-dominated society, especially for women who got married. They were not financially independent and their freedom and rights were deprived. Therefore female were forced to be an “angle in the home”. Both challenge the preconception that women can only be a housekeeper and marriage is the only way out.

Marriage is a commitment and accepting one another for each other’s qualities and flaws. In the 18th century, a happy marriage reflected well to society, however, behind closed doors the union represented restrictive commitment. In the past, women viewed marriage as confinement; they had no options to escape, and husbands controlled every aspect of their wives live. Women were unable to express themselves socially, mentally, emotionally, and physically, although some found relief to express their feeling through writing journals and writing to female friends. Two women that utilize writing to enlighten society and women were Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s’ vision inspired women to reveal their independence and opinions through the use of symbolism, setting, and theme in their short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper.”