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How irony is used in the story of an hour by kate chopin
Analysis the story of an hour by kate chopin
Analysis the story of an hour by kate chopin
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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. In the “Story of an Hour” we observe many instances in which irony takes place. According to the Urban Dictionary irony is “a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what is expected.” Therefore one of the main ironic situations that happen is upon the central character, Mrs. Mallard, not much is told about her character, but we do know she has a heart disease and she is a dedicated house wife. Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble is one of many symbols in this story, Chopin does not tell us much about her but we can interpret that Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble should not be taken literal, it is a sign of her unconsciously surrendering her heart, her identity as an individual, it is a meaning of how she sees herself. She is now told her husband died so she runs to her bedroom to be left alone. While her sister and family friend are downstairs feeling sorry for her and thinking she is destroyed, Mrs. Mallard comes upon an unsuspected feeling that she is now “free.” Since this story was written in 1894, which was a very tough ti... ... middle of paper ... ... her with joy this sense is only experienced while being confined in her bedroom. And as soon as she leaves her room, the freedom she’d just begun to understand is now taken away from her in an instant. She actually died of sorrow and great disappointment of her husband’s return as he waited at the front door. Throughout the story Chopin uses many ironic instances and symbols to illustrate the meaning of several major aspects of the story, we learn a lot more of the main character Mrs. Mallard and we come to an understanding that she did not recognize a world outside of herself. Works Cited Ewell, Barbara. "Kate Chopin." The Role of the Wife and Mother. 19 Dec 2013. "Dream dictionary." Windows. iVillage. 19 Dec 2013. . Urban Dictionary. 18 Dec 2013. .
“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.
“The Story of an hour” a complex piece of literature by Kate Chopin, has various interpretations to it. This story has, one definite interpretation, which is the following: life has to go on no matter what is happened in the past. In this story, Chopin implies Ms. Mallard’s husband has been very cruel to her in her lifetime. However, she never lets her husband get in the way, finally he dies, and, she thinks she is free although she really is not.
Although Louise was loved by her husband and she at times loved him, it was her deep need for self-reliance that turned this otherwise somber occasion into one of joy. The repression of her marriage was over and it was this comfort that allowed Louise to recover from the news quickly. At her sister’s insistence, she comes out of the room, appearing calm and serene.
The story is very short, but every word has import in the story and each line has great depth of meaning. It is possible to infer a great deal about the woman's life, even though we are given very little on the surface. A telegraph and a railroad are mentioned in the first paragraph, so there is some idea of the time the story takes place. We are also given her married name and the full name of her husband. The fact that she is referred to only as "Mrs. Mallard", while her husband's full name is given, coupled with what we learn on the second page, gives some indication of the repression she's had to suffer through and the indignity society placed on woman in those times. We also learn in the first paragraph that she lives in a man's world, for, though it is her sister that tells her the news, it is her husband's friend who rushes over with the story. Even after his death, she is confined to the structures she adopted with married life, including the close friend's of her husband.
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.
The use of situational irony puts a twist in to the ending. The reader expects the character to die as consequence of her situation; however, she dies because of the emotion of the situation rather than the reality. This creates situational irony because her death was the result of something other than what the reader expected. The story’s plot revolves around feelings of freedom and ultimate death of Mrs. Mallard by seeing her husband alive. The story begins with Mrs. Mallard upon hearing her husband’s death and her being alone in the room, “she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been” (Chopin par.10). Mrs. Mallard establishes feelings of agony upon hearing of her husband’s death,
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
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard is a woman living with a heart condition that causes severe stress in her life. When she discovers that her husband has passed away in a tragic accident, she goes into shock and does not know how to cope with such a tragedy. In this story, there are several literary techniques used to display the matter. For example, there is the use of situational irony, allegory and symbolism, and the main theme. Mrs. Mallard lives in a middle-class home, with family and friends around. She has a problem with worrying about her freedom and independence. When she starts coping with the loss of her husband, she soon unearths the true fate of her liberty.
Irony is more complex than it may initially seem, the use of irony in a story helps the author to convey information that is opposite of its literal connotation. With this in mind, “The story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin, outlines the efficacy of this literary tool in writing. Chopin’s used a considerable amount of irony in her story which made the rather “short” story really exciting as she documents the unexpected twist in the life of Louise Mallard in a mere hour. With the mastery of using various types of ironies throughout the story, which led to an unexpected climax that urges the reader to fully appreciate how she connected the first paragraph to the last. Furthermore, Kate Chopin used each form of irony for this story, namely, verbal, situational, and dramatic. However, the situational irony was the main form that emerged in the “The Story of An Hour”.
Although it is arguable that “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a story on tragedy and marriage, it is more so a story about the restrictions of marriage on an individual. Mrs. Mallard shows the effect long-term marriage has on the freedoms of an individual. At the discovery of the death of Mrs. Mallard’s husband, the open square by her house was “aquiver with the new spring life.” This use of pathetic fallacy displays the rebirth of Mrs. Mallard into a new woman – a woman with no restrictions. The full sense of freedom later reaches “toward her through the sounds, the scents, the colours that filled the air” as she glanced out her window and realizes that her husband’s passing is her rebirth into a new, free life. As Mrs. Mallard is
In the novel, “The Story of An Hour”, written by Kate Chopin in 1894, she describes a woman who lets her emotions cause her own death. Chopin’s story describes how a marriage, even the most loving one, can be oppressive. She focuses on feminist issues, how relationships can be all about power. “The Story of An Hour” can be seen as a husband taking control over his wife, which leads to the emotional oppression she feels. Throughout the story, Chopin conveys multiple symbols to further on portraying the wife’s oppression for her husband; the main symbols that help interpret this are heart trouble and the open window. These main symbols represent her feelings of freedom, confinement and happiness.
The Story of an Hour written by Kate Chopin (1894) was an interesting story. When reading the story I noticed a significant paradox with the reaction that Mrs. Mallard had to the news of her husband, Brently Mallard’s death. When her sister, Josephine delicately told her of the news of her husband’s death she wept in her sister’s arms and had a reaction to the news like most happily married women would have, filled with grief. This reaction makes it appear that she and Mr. Mallard had a good loving relationship in their marriage and that she would be lost without him. At other times, the story tells of how Mrs. Mallard while alone in her room had other feelings. She said over and over, “free, free, free!” (pg. 16) Her thoughts, while alone
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 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.
“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.