The mysteries of love, hate, and compassion are all part of marriage. The mysteries of the heart are felt in the short story, The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin (Clugston, 2010, sec 2.1). This story pulls you in with the suspense of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition and the idea of her husband’s death. When you first begin to read this story you get a feeling of compassion for Mrs. Mallard having a heart condition. As the reader you receive sadness within you to know the revealing of her husband’s death may harm her in some way, only to find out that love isn’t that simple and maybe it was the news of her husband being alive that killed her. In this story the narrator focuses on how Mrs. Mallard copes with the death of her husband. The plot defines to the reader what happens in a story by how she reacts to the news of her husband just being killed in a train accident. Looking deeper into this story the theme shows you her underlying feelings demonstration of the impression behind the story by showing almost relief and freedom, through the utilization of different symbols and tones. On the surface you see details such as the phrase “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same” (Clugston, 2010, sec 2.1). This phrase sets a tone of sadness and question of why she took the news so differently than many other women. When first reading this short story the character of an older woman comes to mind only to find later in an important passage “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength (Clugston, 2010, sec 2.1). This passage finally gives the reader a detailing idea of the woman in this story and defines her as a younger woman rather than an older one. This may l... ... middle of paper ... ... live this experience. All readers will read and interpret this story in their own way based on their life and their knowledge of marriage. One thing that is indisputable is the emotions which carry through all people and the empowerment in which marriage has on these inspirations. In life love can renew one spirit as well as kill the passion of a person. References Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/h2.1 Daniel P Deneau. (2003). Chopin's, The Story of an Hour. The Explicator, 61(4), 210-213. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 419206431). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3&did=419206431&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1317923613&clientId=74379
Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin's the Story of an Hour." The Explicator 61.4 (2003): 210-3. ProQuest. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.”(Lao Tzu). In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour”, it tells of a heart trouble married woman, Louise Mallard, who learns that the man she loved and married, Brently has died. Mrs. Mallard’s behavior and emotions have shocked her entire family as she finds it a joyful and powerful event that may change her life for the hour that she has remaining to live. Mrs. Mallard considers his death as a freedom that she has yet longed for over so many years. As many readers begin to express their judgment towards Mrs. Mallard, the aspects of personal relationship may seem to convince those that maybe she was a bit selfish with her response. In the agony of a bitter marriage, “The Story of an Hour” portrays the reality of being in love, being married and finally having female independence.
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.
Louise Mallard is a woman who enjoys freedom and independence. She feels soaring relief and fiery triumph upon realizing that, yes, she is finally free. She is free of the weighted ropes of marriage. She fantasizes of her days ahead, living for herself and only herself. “A kind intention or cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination” (Chopin 234). She views the imposing of one’s will on another person as a crime, no matter the intention behind it. She has a taste of freedom after Mr. Mallard’s death and can finally see days without stress ahead of her. Prior to her husband’s death, young Mrs. Mallard feels tied down and even oppressed. “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (Chopin 233). Despite the typical oppression of women throughout the centuries prior to the 1920s, Mrs. Mallard possesses a free spirit.
The struggle the other characters face in telling Mrs. Mallard of the news of her husband's death is an important demonstration of their initial perception of her strength. Through careful use of diction, Mrs. Mallard is portrayed as dependent. In mentioning her "heart trouble" (12) Chopin suggests that Mrs. Mallard is fragile. Consequently, Josephine's character supports this misconception as she speaks of the accident in broken sentences, and Richards provides little in the way of benefiting the situation. In using excess caution in approaching the elderly woman, Mrs. Mallard is given little opportunity to exhibit her strength. Clearly the caution taken towards Mrs. Mallard is significant in that it shows the reader the perception others have of her. The initial description the author provides readers with creates a picture that Mrs. Mallard is on the brink of death.
In her stories "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin explores the theme of feminist women. The type of women in Kate Chopin’s stories would be considered protagonist women. Since the nineteenth century and today she has been explored more over time. Living in the south with family from French (Creole) with Irish background made it more interesting. Kate Chopin is a communal towards discrimination and sexual subtlety of the Cajun and Creole culture. Where she lived the majority of the time makes her one of the outstanding Southern fiction regionalist profound writer for feminist women.
Kate Chopin’s story, "The Story of an Hour," may seem to be about Mrs. Mallard’s unexpected and ironic reactions to the news of her husband’s untimely death due to a railroad disaster. At least that’s what I thought when I read the story. It seemed to me that she led a normal life with a normal marriage. She had a stable home life with a kind, loving husband who cared for her. She seemed to love him, sometimes. She had some kind of "heart trouble" (Chopin 25) that didn’t really affect her physically, until the very end. I thought Mrs. Mallard would have been saddened and filled with grief for an adequate period of time after her spouse died, but her grief passed quickly, and she embraced a new life that she seemed to be content with. Therefore I believe there is good evidence that Mrs. Mallard was an ungrateful woman who did not appreciate her husband or his love for her. That evidence is found in her selfish behavior after the death of her husband, Brently Mallard.
One of the uttermost remarkable transformations to women throughout the world took place during the 19th century. Moreover, this renovations led to notable changes in women’s roles. During this period of time the portrayal of females was to follow their chores in their homes and to take care of the children. In contrast, the role of men during this phase was to regulate the laws in their family. Kate Chopin was a writer that described precisely the reality of women in her vast number of stories. One of her most notorious and outstanding pieces was written in 1894. “The Story of an Hour” is a formidable dramatic piece of literature due to the fact that it implies elements of fiction such as irony, imagery, and an adequate setting.
In the story of an hour, Kate Chopin uses many literary devices. Imagery, irony and symbolism makes the story interesting and the ending of the story raises many question came to my mind? How can such an event take so little time? What is the significant of that one hour? What does her heart trouble symbolize? These are some questions that came across my mind and the beauty of her writing is the symbolism and ironies she used and readers can have different interpretation.
Literature can be defined as large works of words and stories that have become classics over time. It comes from the Latin term littera, meaning letter, which is in support of Literature being written, although some are oral. Literature writings can be written in the form of poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. Those writings can include a specific type of language, period, people, particular subject, and even literary devices. Some examples of literary devices are irony, metaphor, mood, alliteration, and motif. So could The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, a fiction story, be defined as literature? Well this fictional story did become a classic over time having a particular subject(meaning) during a certain time period involving
In conclusion the three themes of Freedom, Oppression and Repression are major factors in the two stories, all three of the themes appearing in distinct ways. By comparing the position of both Jane and Mrs. Mallard in the two stories both in their own particular way are oppressed or subjugated by other males, in this case their husbands, even though their husbands often want to do what they feel is best for them. This leaves both tales open to examination in terms of the issue of patriarchy and how often women are its victims. It is also sure to say that Freedom, Oppression and Repression were very much commonly seen in the 19th century since both stories were written in about that time and both share these
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
It is expected of woman to shatter into crisis as news of her husband’s death is exposed. In this reading, the author presents a widow named Louise Mallard, who against all odds dares to expose her desired dream. Mrs. Mallard subdues an unexpected reaction as she was notified of Mr. Mallard’s death. With sense of relief, she disgracefully mourns his absence. Yet, despite the horrendous news, Louise was powerless as a transparent feeling of joy approached her heart. Freedom was gifted. She “opened and spread her arms out…”
The first reader has a guided perspective of the text that one would expect from a person who has never studied the short story; however the reader makes some valid points which enhance what is thought to be a guided knowledge of the text. The author describes Mrs. Mallard as a woman who seems to be the "victim" of an overbearing but occasionally loving husband. Being told of her husband's death, "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance." (This shows that she is not totally locked into marriage as most women in her time). Although "she had loved him--sometimes," she automatically does not want to accept, blindly, the situation of being controlled by her husband. The reader identified Mrs. Mallard as not being a "one-dimensional, clone-like woman having a predictable, adequate emotional response for every life condition." In fact the reader believed that Mrs. Mallard had the exact opposite response to the death her husband because finally, she recognizes the freedom she has desired for a long time and it overcomes her sorrow. "Free! Body and soul free! She kept whispering." We can see that the reader got this idea form this particular phrase in the story because it illuminates the idea of her sorrow tuning to happiness.
That shows us how love can turn on the insanity of human. In “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard felt joyful but not depressed after her husband died since she can get freedom from this. That shows us how love kill and bury romance of relationship. Therefore, people think marriage is the graveyard of the romance and I think this is true after I read these stories since there are strong examples in these stories and make me think why people still maintain this system even they afraid of