American author Kate Chopin was born Catherine O'Flaherty on July 12, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was one of three children born to immigrant Irishman Thomas O'Flaherty and a French-American mother, Eliza Faris. She has written two published novels and over a hundred short stories. Most of her stories are set in her hometown of Louisiana and focus on the lives of women. Based on the literary criticisms researched, a lot Kate Chopin's works focused on female emancipation. The era she grew up in was a contemporary society where women were subjected to acting in a certain manner. Women were to get married, have children, and live a traditional life. Chopin did not grow up in a traditional household, perhaps setting the basis for her view
When I first read Kate Chopin's "The Story Of An Hour", my instinctual response was to sympathize with the character of Mrs. Mallard. This seemed to me to have been intended by the author because the story follows her emotional path from the original shock upon hearing of her husband's supposed death to her gradual acceptance of the joy she feels in anticipating her new freedom to the irony of her own sudden death. However, one fact cannot be overlooked when judging my personal reaction to this piece. Because this story's theme is basically an issue of what a woman has the right to expect from her life, the fact that I am a woman living in a society where freedom and independence are valued above all else weighs heavily on the way I look upon the actions of Mrs. Mallard and also on the way I judge Chopin's message.
In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour” one hour seems like an eternity according to Mrs. Mallard. A life can change in less than a minute. This story really gives a good example of this idea. Around the 1890s when the story takes place, women were oppressed by society. Unfortunately women did not have as many rights as men did, unless they were a widow. Also it was common to see arranged marriages due to the economic situation during those times. Mrs. Louise Mallard has been diagnosed with heart problems; therefore any bad news can be extremely dangerous for her health. Her husband’s death could be too much for her health to bear. Josephine Mrs. Mallard’s sister try find the best way to tell her about Mr. Mallard’s death without her passing out as well. According to the news an accident happen, it was a rail road accident in which Mr. Mallard was aboard. Mysterious feelings, reactions and expressions come out of Mrs. Mallard as soon as she hears the news. Throughout the story Mrs. Mallards becomes a new person, one that not even herself recognizes. But everything changes in less than one second when the door starts to open. Chopin uses characterization, symbolism and irony to show how happiness can also be dangerous.
If any other characters in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” were to read Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts, they would surely be horrified. What sort of sane, caring woman would feel joy and relief at the death of her husband? She must be a terrible person, despite her reasoning for those feelings. How could Mr. Mallard have chosen such a woman for his bride? She’s a gem, truly; note the sarcasm. Though, one does have to consider what else there is to Mrs. Mallard. She is a human and there is much more to her than her seemingly ill feelings toward her late husband, such as her desire for freedom, her genuine care for Mr. Mallard, and her capacity to exhibit strong emotions.
Kate Chopin uses symbolism in weather in The Story of an Hour, to reflect Ms.Mallard's opinions and emotional state. Chopin also uses dramatic irony to let the reader experience the real truth behind Ms.Mallard’s death. These aspects of literature helps to create chopin’s distinctive writing
In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, the author shows us the response of a young woman to her husband’s presumed death. Before the news, the widow, Mrs. Mallard, felt trapped in a situation she found to be inescapable. Her marriage made her feel as though her will wasn’t really her own, that she wasn’t really free. However, when the news of her husband’s death reaches her, she finally begins to feel that she has a chance to be free.
In analyzing Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” it is unquestionably an ironic, satirical, fiction abundantly filled with literary imagery and raw emotions. Chopin commences the narrative focusing on the frailty of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition and the extent at which her sister, Josephine and husband’s friend Richards take measures to inform her of her husband’s passing. Mrs. Mallard comes to an emotional impasse grieving over her husband’s sudden accidental death and realizes her newly found emotional freedom that altogether overwhelms her in pure jubilation that is shortly lived.
Chopin uses “The Story of an Hour” to demonstrate her belief not only in the shackles of marriage in that time, but also the cruelty of warping someone to suit your needs. When Mrs. Mallard’s husband dies she is overcome with joy rather than grief and is instilled with a sense of freedom. However, when all that seemed too good to be true is taken from her she cannot handle it and dies under the weight of this discouragement. Chopin’s theme of liberation achieved through her clever use of language drives home her idea that people should be more independent and less constrained by
Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour
Question #1 Compare and contrast women's roles and marriage in "The Story of an Hour" and "The Yellow Wallpaper."
Mrs. Mallard had heart trouble and is very sick. After the news of her husbands death she locked herself in her room and all she could think was she was finally free. She knew she would weep again when she saw her husband with his hands folded in death, but all she could think as she sat in the room all alone was of the many years she would have ahead of her to only live for herself: " But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely" (Danticat 138).
“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a story that has been controversial since its publication in 1894, with reviews ranging from highly critical to great acclaim. The story follows Chopin’s character Mrs. Mallard who is introduced at the same time she is receiving news of her husband’s death. The story is largely a mixture of radical views for its time, subtle meanings, and symbolism. While modern day readers read this story with an open mind, many men - of the 1890’s and much of the 1900’s - would have been outraged at its surface meaning. However, even today Chopin’s story receives criticism for being a gross portrayal of a woman's loss. This is due to the fact that many individuals continue to view the story at face value. Nevertheless, readers of Chopin’s story will find themselves reacting either one extreme or the other. But it is this reader participation that is crucial in determining what the story will be. Despite all beliefs, Mrs. Mallard is a woman who is stuck in her time trying to escape society’s constraints, develop her own identity, all while “coping” with the loss of her husband.