In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" we go through an hour of Mrs. Mallard's life as she learns of her husband's death and embraces the freedom this brings forth. This new-found freedom is short lived as the sight of her allegedly dead husband walks through the front door, Mrs. Mallard succumbs to her death immediately. This story, although it is short, it is deeply symbolic, filled with irony that is used to achieve major themes of freedom and societal views. Mrs. Mallard's heart condition is used as a symbol of the way society views women. Women tend to be viewed as delicate, emotionally and physically.
The Interlopers and The Story of an Hour The short stories ‘The Interlopers’ and ‘The Story of an Hour’ are both excellent stories, and while they have many differences, they are also very similar. They feature foreshadowing, symbolism and irony, even though the plot and characters are vastly different. Both are extremely interesting and entertaining. ‘The Story of an Hour’ is set on a sunny day where Louise Mallard is told of her husband’s death. We are told that she had ‘heart trouble’ which foreshadowed her death at the end of the book “When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.”(Chopin,1).
These two stories have one main subject in common: a want for freedom from a husband’s hold in marriage. Both of these women felt trapped within their marriage and simply wanted a way out. “Story of an Hour” begins as a tale about a woman who is struck with the devastating news that her husband has died in a train accident. However, this was not so crippling to the wife, Mrs. Mallard. Her emotions overwhelmed her.
“The Story of an Hour” is a great short story written by Kate Chopin in 1894. This story is full of ups, downs, and surprises that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Chopin begins the story by introducing the main character Mrs. Mallard, who upon learning that her husband has been killed in a tragic railroad accident does not respond the way the reader anticipates. Instead of trying to process what has happened, or even denying it, Mrs. Mallard immediately begins crying hysterically. After a few minutes she decides that she needs to be alone.
The main characters and setting of these two stories can’t be more opposite than they are. “The Story of an Hour” is about Mrs. Louise Mallard, has heart trouble and is almost treated as though she is a small child. The news of her husband’s death is told to her with “great care” and “as gently as possible.” On the
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson were both written by women to express how they were treated in their time period. Both of these stories were criticized because they challenged the belief that a woman should not be just a docile wife. These two pieces of literature utilized symbolic imagery, repetition, and dramatic irony to convey the common theme shared that women are opressed by the standards of society. In Chopin's Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard sees the outside world through the only window in her room. It is described in detail, being a "delicious breath of rain".
“When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone.” (Chopin, 2014) Louise’s withdrawal to her room acts as a metaphor for her life as a married woman. So far, Brently Mallard controlled the decisions, now Louise has the freedom to make her own choices without the ties of marriage. This metaphor shows oppression because Louise’s old life is compared to the oppressive feelings one has when confined to a room. Once locked in a room, a person would feel powerless, forgotten, and alone. These feelings characterized Louise’s life before her husband’s death.
In the short story, “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the reader learns that in the past women were imprisoned in their marriage by men. People can see the effects of a man in a marriage by the reaction of Louise Mallard to the news of her husband's death in a train accident. Some may say, that the purpose of the story is to illuminate the dangers of miscommunication, but that is only in one part of the story you have to look at the big picture of it throughout the whole story and with Mallards actions, emotions, and thought, the reader can see that it is not that at all. After hearing about her husband's death, Mallard rushes up to a room to cry in peace, but in that room she had time to think and see her future. In the time Mallard experienced
“The Story of an Hour”: Imperfect Marriage Marriages are not always perfect. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” it talks about what Mrs. Mallard is going through in just one hour. Throughout the story, it tells the reader about how how she feels after the death of her wealthy husband .When she found out that Mr. Mallard died, she was actually happy instead of being sad. That is when situational irony is being used, when Mr. Mallard walks in the door and when Mrs. Mallard dies from a heart problem. She uses situational irony when Mr. Mallard walks in the door: “It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella” (Chopin, 1894).
Sexism is the “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women.” “In The Story of An Hour,” by Kate Chopin women were treated as property or belongings. To prove, “Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering (14).” The emotions Louise Mallard endures in that moment are powerful and deep. This is a story about finding a sense of self, and Louise feels free. Her life is no longer dependent on emotion or by love, and her husband’s death has set her free.