Individuality In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

1333 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character analysis essay story of an hour

In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, the central theme of individuality is enforced through Mrs. Mallard’s journey of self-discovery as a result of the loss of her husband. This is demonstrated through the use of traditional gender stereotypes in the text which display the effects that an individual in a co-dependent marriage can experience when faced with a tragedy. This representation of gender roles is central to the meaning of the story; it would not have the same impact if it weren’t centered on a traditional housewife. Apart from gender roles, irony is one of the most prominent literary devices used in the story, further aiding in the representation of gender roles and individuality. The concept of marriage plays a big part in …show more content…

The most common stereotype is that women are weak. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband 's death.” (Chopin, 1). The way the news was broken to her was gentle and sugar coated whereas it would have been broken to a man directly and without being censored. This was done because it’s assumed that women will act irrationally and make poor choices when told bad news. Stereotypes are also evident when Louise begins to break down immediately after finding out that her husband has died and everyone assumed that she was crying because she was upset over the loss of the man she’s spent her whole life with. Although she was actually crying tears of joy because she secretly hated her husband. Other gender stereotypes are depicted when her husband acts the role of the tough/strong, independent, hard-working man who only thinks about himself and making money to provide for his family. Gender stereotypes force an individual to become someone that they’re not and who they really are becomes lost. Once that happens, they lose the ability to resolve their problems in a healthy manner and see who they really are. When all a person can do is live their life only caring for their partner, they eventually build up resentment that becomes hatred towards the one they’re supposed to love. When you’re so dependent on someone else’s happiness/success you’re unable/unequipped to deal with your own personal problems. Unhealthy attachments create an inability to be an individual

Show More
Related

  • Free Essay - Roller Coaster of Emotions in Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    A Roller Coaster of Emotions in A Story of An Hour In the short story “A Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the whole range. of emotions are felt by the main charter, Louise Mallard. Upon learning of her husband's death, she is immediately overcome by sadness. However, once she is.

    Read More

  • Characters In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    In many short stories, characters face binding situations in their lives that make them realize more about themselves when they finally overcome such factors. These lively binding factors can result based on the instructions imposed by culture, custom, or society. They are able to over come these situations be realizing a greater potential for themselves outside of the normality of their lives. Characters find such realizations through certain hardships such as tragedy and insanity.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour - A Big Story in a Small Space

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    Story of an Hour – A Big Story in a Small Space. Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" tells the story of a woman trapped in a repressive marriage, who desperately wants to escape. She is given that chance, quite by accident, and the story tells of the hour in which this freedom is given to her. The story is very short (only two pages), so is interesting to look at as a minimalist piece of literature, and the surprise ending offers an opportunity to look at Chopin's use of foreshadowing.

    Read More

  • Marriage And A Woman's Role In The 1800s

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, it talks about marriage and a woman’s life in the 1800’s. This story illustrates the stifling nature of a woman’s role during this time through Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death. When Mrs. Mallard obtains news that her husband is dead, she is hurt after a brief moment and then she is delighted with the thought of freedom. This story shows how life was in the mid 1800’s and how women were treated around that time.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's 'Story Of An Hour'

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    Can you hear the voices? In a story there is always more that just one voice to be heard. Can you hear them? It is only necessary to look closely and read the text, then you can hear them. In Kate Chopin’s story, “Story of an Hour,” there are four distinct voices that can be heard. You are able to hear the narrator, author, character, and yourself as you read.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    Freedom is one of the most powerful words in the world because of the feeling it gives people. This idea is evident in Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour.” In the story, readers witness the effect freedom can have when the main character, Louise, finds out her husband had passed away. The story begins when Louise’s sister informs her that her husband had been in a terrible accident and he was dead. Once she gets over the immediate shock, she finds herself overwhelmed with joy because she was free to live her life for herself and not her husband. At the end of the story, her husband walks through the front door, and Louise has a heart attack and dies. In the story "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the power of freedom through the use of diction, point of view, and setting.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour. Kate Chopin was a Victorian writer whose writing manifests her life experiences. She was not happy with the principles of the time, because women had fewer rights, and they were not considered equal to men. Afraid of segregation from society, people lived in a hypocritical world full of lies; moreover, Kate Chopin was not afraid of segregation, and used her writing as a weapon against oppression of the soul.

    Read More

  • The Story of an Hour

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 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.” Mrs. Mallard cared for and loved her husband; being married was the only way of life that she knew.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis on Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” focuses on a woman named Louise Mallard and her reaction to finding out about her husband’s death. The descriptions that the author uses in the story have significance in the plot because they foreshadow the ending.

    Read More

  • Kate CHopin's Story of an Hour

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" the author portrays patriarchal oppression in the institution of marriage by telling the story of one fateful hour in the life of a married woman. Analyzing the work through feminist criticism, one can see the implications of masculine discourse.

    Read More

  • Essay on Setting in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Setting exists in every form of fiction, representing elements of time, place, and social context throughout the work. These elements can create particular moods, character qualities, or features of theme. Throughout Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," differing amounts and types of the setting are revealed as the plot develops. This story deals with a young woman's emotional state as she discovers her own independence in her husband's death, then her "tragic" discovery that he is actually alive. The constituents of setting reveal certain characteristics about the main character, Louise Mallard, and are functionally important to the story structure. The entire action takes place in the springtime of a year in the 1890s, in the timeframe of about an hour, in a house belonging to the Mallards. All of these aspects of setting become extremely relevant and significant as the meaning of the story unfolds.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Mrs. Mallard in The Story of an Hour

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.”

    Read More

  • Three Readers Response to The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    My belief on marriage is a sacred vow taken by two people which joins them in union. Most people carry the belief that marriage should occur only when two people are in love; although this belief is common it is not always the case and people marry for a variety of reasons. In the short story "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin suggests that in the case of Mrs. Mallard and Mr. Mallard, love was not a deciding factor for their reason to get married. Though the response of three readers, one being myself, we will explore the character of Mrs. Mallard and the idea of love in her marriage. Kate Chopin has given little detail about the Mallards and therefore left much to the imagination of the reader. Although there are similarities in details between readers such as: point of view, setting, and character, each reader brings new perspective and ideas. This type of analysis of the text allows a richer and more knowledgeable outlook; not only by enhancing ones own ideas by introducing new ones.

    Read More

More about Individuality In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Open Document