Symbolism In 'The Story Of An Hour' By Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin

During the feminist movement in the 1850s, Kate Chopin was a famous author. Chopin’s realism writing helped people with their emotion, letting people relate to real life situations. Kate Chopin was a middle class woman who was very talented. At a young age Chopin fell in love with writing. Chopin wrote many short stories and poems, including her two most known short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and The Awakening. These two writings have themes that show women have a lack of freedom during the time period she wrote her stories. In her mid 1800 short story “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin explores the theme of women feeling isolated by using symbolism and imagery. Kate Chopin, daughter of Eliza Faris O’Flaherty and Thomas

She believes that women should be free and not have a restriction of marriage. In this short story Louise becomes free. For example Louise says,“She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (Chopin 786). When Louise says she sees the open square filled with the new spring life she means that she sees hope and opportunity. Additionally, Chopin, the author uses symbolism in this quote. She shows how the new spring life is symbolic of freedom. She sees beautiful independence as being a woman. Since her husband died, she will finally be able to live a long life being independent. Louise also states,“There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Chopin 787). This shows that Louise is happy to finally live for herself. She can make her own decisions and not feel controlled. Louise must have felt that at the time women did not have rights so when she found out her husband passed away she felt independent. Louise’s husband was one reason she did not feel free. In the beginning of the short story the author says,” Mrs Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble”(Chopin 784). Mrs. Mallard's heart trouble was symbolic to her disappointment with her marriage. Chopin shows symbolism through this quote when she compares Louise heart to how upset she is with her marriage. She feels controlled and

She believed that women should be equal to men. She states this when she says,“What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” (Chopin 787). Louise feels that she can stick up for herself being woman from now on because she is on her own. She feels like she matters in the world and can have rights for being a woman. The author uses imagery to show Louise has rights. She says, “Patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window” (Chopin 786). Imagery is used through the patches of blue sky, they are like patches of opportunity Louise is getting and the clouds are the restrictions women have in their life. Within this quote the window of opportunity is brought up again. Louise is excited to get the freedom she has always wanted to