The Rapid Transition of Emotions: Analyzing Character in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” the main character goes through a rapid fire of emotions. At the beginning of the hour, Louise Mallard is a woman who is tied by the beliefs of the society, to stay in a marriage she does not want. After she finds out that her husband passed away, Louise reacts with sudden grief. However, when she realizes that her husband’s death has let her free from the marriage she does not want to stay in, she eventually becomes elated. She becomes happy because Louise wants to live for herself and does not want to rely on anyone. The unexpected return of her husband causes Mrs. Mallard to die unexpectedly. During the hour,
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Mallard’s grief is shown twice in the story. Firstly, Louise mourns the loss of her husband. She cries because she knows how a woman behaves when she loses her husband. She “[weeps] … with sudden, wild abandonment” (66) that shows that she felt strongly about losing her husband and it is the most intense of the emotions she experiences so far. According to Selina Jamil, Louise’s “life seems devoid of emotions [until the moment she is told that her husband has passed]” (1). It is a strong claim to say that Mrs. Mallard feels nothing. However, it is true to say that Louise’s emotions toward her husband are shallow. Her response to Mr. Mallard’s “kind and tender hands,”(67) is only that “she had loved him sometimes … ”(67). Secondly, Louise grieves when she loses hope. For example, Louise’s hopes get shattered when she finds out that her husband is alive (68). This loss of hope is because not only will she be unable to fulfill her dreams about being a single, independent woman, but also because she would be going back into the repressive marriage she was in: as the narrator says, “she [is] young, … whose lines [bespeak] repression …”(67). She is also “pressed down by a physical exhaustion the haunts her body and seems to reach her soul”(66). This is to say that her marriage does not allow her to be open and express her emotions freely that Mrs. Mallard held every thought inside. Mrs. Mallard grieves as a result of the loss of a spouse and then the loss of …show more content…
She is joyful because she is liberated and she sees hope as a result of her liberation. After her husband passed away, she thinks about her marriage and “...recognizes self-assertion as the strongest impulse of her being” (67). Xuemei Wan quotes “… Mrs. Mallard feels it more important to be an individual than to be a woman (or at least a mother-woman)…”(168). To show this desire of selfhood, the narrator uses Louise’s first name right after Louise recognizes what she wants—her freedom (68). Before Mr. Mallard died, Louise was identified as Mrs. Mallard—someone’s wife; after she realizes the positive aspects of being a widow, Louise is no more someone’s wife, rather an independent woman. In addition, Louise’s liberation leads her to “... embrace visions of the future” (Wilson 266). For example, she sees “ … the new spring life [in the open square]”(66). For Louise, the new spring life is a possibility “... of a life without her husband …”(Wilson 266) where she would not have to rely on a husband anymore. She is also free from the repressive marriage she was in and she “she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely, and she opens and spreads her arms out to them in welcome”(67). Louise is ecstatic about her husband’s death because she is free from the marriage she does not want to stay in and she will get to do whatever she
Louise, the unfortunate spouse of Brently Mallard dies of a supposed “heart disease.” Upon the doctor’s diagnosis, it is the death of a “joy that kills.” This is a paradox of happiness resulting into a dreadful ending. Nevertheless, in reality it is actually the other way around. Of which, is the irony of Louise dying due to her suffering from a massive amount of depression knowing her husband is not dead, but alive. This is the prime example to show how women are unfairly treated. If it is logical enough for a wife to be this jovial about her husband’s mournful state of life then she must be in a marriage of never-ending nightmares. This shows how terribly the wife is being exploited due her gender in the relationship. As a result of a female being treated or perceived in such a manner, she will often times lose herself like the “girl
Although the net neutrality debate didn’t come into the spot light so long ago, it has sparked controversy in the communications world. This concept provides a positive impact to the consumers, competition and network owners/internet service providers. It broadens the aspect of equality, which the open Internet was first based on. The profound effects on the aforementioned players provide a supported purpose to regulate the notion of net neutrality.
As Mrs. Mallard lets her realization take root she begins to chant, “free, free, free” (Chopin, 75). This shows that she accepts her new fate and knows that she will be okay without her husband. Louise becomes aware that she has been dictated by social expectation and requirement, but now can live for herself once again with no one to answer to. Louise admits, “she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death” (Chopin, 75), but sees her future beyond that now. Social expectations no longer obligate her to be the woman she was. Louise is now able to do what she feels is most beneficial for her as an individual, and not what would be expected in her monogamous
Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, is about a woman, named Louise Mallard, in the late 1800s who is told that her husband, Brently, has died in a railroad accident. Initially, Louise is surprised, distressed, and drowned in sorrow. After mourning the loss, the woman realizes that she is finally free and independent, and that the only person she has to live for is herself. She becomes overwhelmed with joy about her new discovery of freedom, and dreams of all of the wonderful events in life that lie ahead of her. Louise’s sister finally convinces her to leave her room and come back into reality. While Louise is walking down her steps, her husband surprisingly enters through the door because he was actually not killed in the accident. At the same moment, Louise collapses and dies, supposedly from “heart disease-of joy that kills” (Chopin 706).
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin symbolizes the irony of bitter joy by displaying the reader with a woman who is liberated that her husband has died. This is portrayed by Louise’s emotions as she alternates between numbness and joy at her new freedom due to the sudden death of her husband. The narrator describes Louise as sad and weeping, yet warmed and relaxed. No reasons are given to why she was not grief stricken and why she did not feel free in the first place. In this essay, I will explain my views and opinions of why Mrs. Ballard’s emotions were not conventional, why she felt free after the news of her husband’s death, and the irony behind her death in the end.
In "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, we are introduced to Mrs. Mallard. She is portrayed an unloving, heartless, woman who is overjoyed by the passing of her husband- or at least that is the common misconception. Mrs. Mallard although perceived as inhuman, is actually more human than most would like to believe. While her actions may seem questionable or even to be condemned, they are hardly unthinkable in light of the issues involving marriage and the woman's role throughout history. The story itself presents a valid argument in favor of Louise as she is portrayed as the oppressed wife finally set free after her husband's death.
Kate Chopin wrote a short piece called “The Story of an Hour” about a woman’s dynamic emotional shift who believes she has just learned her husband has died. The theme of Chopin’s piece is essentially a longing for more freedom for women.
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. 11th . New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013. 476-477. Print.
Upon seeing her husband alive and well Louise realizes that the life she has imagined is not to be. The return of Brently signals a return of the patriarchal oppression in her life, and after imagining herself as an individual and then to be denied the chance to live freely is a punishment far worse than the crime. Louise loses her identity and once again becomes "his wife." Richards once more tries to protect her, a helpless woman, by attempting to block her view from her husband, because of the fragile state of her heart. Mrs. Mallard's strengths are gone, never to be acknowledged by the men in her life. For one, brief hour she was an individual. Now she finds herself bound by masculine oppression with no end in sight, and the result is death.
In "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin tells the story of a woman, Mrs. Mallard, whose husband is thought to be dead. Throughout the story, Chopin describes the emotions Mrs. Mallard felt about the news of her husband's death. However, the strong emotions she felt were not despair or sadness, they were something else. In a way, she was relieved more than she was upset, and almost rejoiced in the thought of her husband no longer living. In using different literary elements throughout the story, Chopin conveys this to us on more than one occasion.
Unfortunately, her hope for long years and many beautiful spring days was abruptly ended in an ironic twist. Unbeknownst to herself and her company, Mr. Mallard had survived, and within an hour the promises of a bright future for Mrs. Mallard had both began and came to an end. Her grievous death was misconstrued as joy to the others: "they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills" (Chopin 471). This statement embodies the distorted misconception that a woman lives only for her man. The audience, in fact, sees just the opposite. To Louise her life was elongated at the news of her husband's death, not cut short. Throughout the story, one hopes Louise will gain her freedom. Ironically, she is granted freedom, but only in death.
Analysis of “The Story of an Hour”. In her story “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin (1894) uses imagery and descriptive detail to contrast the rich possibilities for which Mrs. Mallard yearns, given the drab reality of her everyday life. Chopin utilizes explicit words to provide the reader with a background on Mrs. Mallard’s position. Chopin uses “She wept at once,” to describe Mrs. Mallard’s emotional reaction once she was told her husband had been “Killed.”
“The Story of an Hour” was a story set in a time dominated by men. During this time women were dependent on men, but they always dreamed of freedom. Most people still think that men should be dominant and in control. They think that without men, women can’t do anything and that they can’t be happy. Well this story has a twist.
She has now found a new desire for life. However, without warning, the tone abruptly reverts back to its grief stricken “ horror.” As Mr. Mallard walks in the door, her thoughts, dreams, and aspirations, quickly fade away. Louise’s heart, so weak, simply stops and all bliss transfers into extreme heartache. The drastic changes of tone reveals that freedom can be given and taken from someone in a heartbeat and the heartache will always remain.
Kate Chopin's story, "The Story of an Hour", focuses on an 1890's young woman, Louise Mallard. She experienced a profound emotional change after she hears her husband's "death" and her life ends with her tragic discovery that he is actually alive. In this story, the author uses various techniques-settings, symbolism and irony- to demonstrate and develop the theme: Freedom is more important than love.