The short piece by Kate Chopin, ‘The Story of an Hour’, is about a sickly wife who finds out the news of her husband’s death, which seem to make her happy that she is liberated from the husband’s controlling ways, even though she is supposed to be really sad and in grief. The story is about a protagonist, who undergoes certain changes throughout the story’s continuity. The irony of the story is how the author ends the book. We expect that since the woman, Mrs. Mallard is supposed to be happy all through, the twist with which the book ends with is that of her dying. Her happiness killed her. This essay will seek to literary analyze the story, and highlight the main events in it. This story is considered a feminist fiction, and the discussion will tend to support this thesis statement, and show that it is indeed a feminist fiction. The story is about how an event occurred, challenging and seeming to overcome sexism, through Mrs. Mallard after the death of her husband.
Discussion
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Mallard has a heart condition, which makes it very hard to anyone to break to her the sad news of the death of her husband in the beginning. Everyone treats her cautiously and with care, and they tiptoe around the issue of the death of her husband. When her sister and close family get the news that Mr. Mallard had died in an accident, they take time and gently break the news to her, fearing that any carelessness could be fatal to her due to the heart condition she suffered from. She weeps and cries, then goes ahead to lock herself up in her room. She seems terrified and in awe about something that is about to come to her, which is her freedom. In spite of all the love they had for one other, and is sad that her husband is now dead, she is excited about the news that she will be free for the first time to do whatever she wanted. Instead of dreading the days ahead without her husband, she looks forward to them (Friedman,
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.
Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Sommers have a fair share of intemperance. Mrs. Mallard has come to the realization that the death of her husband is not only a tragic occurrence, but also a beneficial cutting of her previously binding marital ties. The crisis of her grief has given her new insight on her life, and Mrs. Mallard understands that her marriage has limited her independence and freedom. Due to this realization she immediately forgets about the accident and starts to think about her freedom: ““Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering” (paragraph 14). It is only an hour after Mrs. Mallard has received the bitter news of her husband’s death. Considering that her husband is gone, instead of mourning, she is overwhelmed with the freedom she
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.
Anyone who receives notice of a loved ones death is never expected to take it lightly. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husbands “death” as gently as possible, and immediately she understands the enormous significance this loss will have on her life. Unlike many widow’s, her feelings of utter devastation do not last. Mrs. Mallard’s sobs of loss turn to cries of joy after she reflects upon her own character and discovers truths about her marriage.
Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a brilliant short story of irony and emotion. The story demonstrates conflicts that take us through the character’s emotions as she finds out about the death of her husband. Without the well written series of conflicts and events this story, the reader would not understand the depth of Mrs. Mallard’s inner conflict and the resolution at the end of the story. The conflict allows us to follow the emotions and unfold the irony of the situation in “The Story of an Hour.”
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
Mallard has a heart condition and her husband recently has died. She feels depleted at first, but then she starts to not feel sorry as she realizes she has more freedom. However, Mr. Mallard comes in through the door being alive this whole time and everyone is in shock. Once Mrs. Mallard see her husband she is in shock and passes away at the sight.
Kate Chopin's `The Story of an Hour' is a short yet complex piece describing the feelings of Mrs Mallard. This story is overflowing with symbolism and imagery. The most prominent theme here is the longing for freedom. Chopin focuses on unfolding the emotional state of Mrs Mallard which can be separated into three stages: quickly moving to grief, through a sense of newfound freedom, and finally into the despair of the loss of that freedom.
In “The Story of an Hour” (1894), Kate Chopin presents a woman in the last hour of her life and the emotional and psychological changes that occur upon hearing of her husbands’ death. Chopin sends the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, on a roller coaster of emotional up’s and down’s, and self-actualizing psychological hairpin turns, which is all set in motion by the news of her husband’s death. This extreme “joy ride” comes to an abrupt and ultimately final halt for Mrs. Mallard when she sees her husband walk through the door unscathed. Chopin ends her short story ambiguously with the death of Mrs. Mallard, imploring her reader to determine the true cause of her death.
In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes to her readers a young woman’s response to her husband’s death, or at least his presumed death. The opinions readers will draw from this story will vary from person to person due to personal experiences. The experience and wisdom that I have gained through the trails and tribulations of my life help me to understand, relate, and even despise Mrs. Mallard’s character. On one hand, I feel pity for Mrs. Mallard. I think she felt trapped in a situation that she found to be inescapable. She felt lonely, restless, and did not know how to help herself. Yet, on the other hand, I do not feel sorry for
“The Story of An Hour” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young nineteenth-century woman, Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the reader to cogitate a hidden meaning weaved into Kate‘s short story. Chopin had an idea that women felt confined in their marriages, and the idea is brought out through the protagonist’s initial reaction, excessive joy, and new perspective of the world following the upsetting news.
In the time period this story was taking place, it was difficult for a woman to take care of herself. Today it is very common for a woman to have a job, but back then women depended on their husbands. To lose your husband would not only mean great heartbreak, but also working and defending yourself from the dangers of everyday life. Mrs. Mallard was fighting an internal conflict of mourning her husband’s death and also with the overwhelming stress of new responsibilities
Mallard was trapped and troubled. Her conclusive reality of dreaming of dreaming of independence was pushing her over the edge. She was depressed. Slowly going insane. Mrs. Mallard played her social role all the time, she didn’t realise how unhappy she was because she was so used to playing it all the time; acting her part.
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
One of the conflicts Mrs. Mallard faces in her new life is that she finally feels like she can do something with her life, and she feels bad that her husband had to die for her to feel that way. “She was beginning to recognize this