Self-Identity and Freedom The story of an hour by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to her husband’s death. In this short story, Chopin portrays the complexity of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as she is saddened yet joyful of her loss. Kate Chopin’s story argues that an individual discovers their self-identity only after being freed from confinement. The story also argues that freedom is a very powerful force that affects the mental or emotional state of a person. Chopin argues that only through death can one be finally freed.
When I first began to read and analyze” The story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard seemed to be an older woman and as we were informed in the very first line, Mrs. Mallard was troubled with a heart issue. As I furthered continued to read, I discovered she was a young woman and it through me for a loop. I think that Chopin is showing us a social situation of the times when women feels as prisoner in a marriage. We(women) all has dreams of becoming a wife to our knight and shining honor but once we get “our knight and shining honor”, it isn’t always what we have dreamed of. Kate Chopin 's, "The Story of an Hour," is a very written short piece of fiction.
Kate Chopin is the author of the most popular short story "The Story of an Hour". Chopin paints a bleak picture of marriage in this story. It is a short story focusing on a young married woman of the late nineteenth century as she reacts to the news that her husband has died in a train accident. The story was written in a time period when women did not really have right to express their feeling and desire. Women were supposed to stay home and take care of the family whereas the husbands went out to work.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” Written by Kate Chopin, this short story was first published by Vogue magazine in 1894. The story was published under the title, “The Dream of an hour”. It was again reprinted in 1895 under the title, “The Story of an hour”. The setting of this story is during that time period when females had limited freedom and they were bound to their male relatives (Chopin and Chopin). The title refers to an hour that passes during the period when the protagonist, Mrs. Louise Mallard gets information that her husband is dead and the time when she finds that he is alive.
Chopin captures the complete essence of the moment in the following quote; “She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (Chopin). The fact that Louise envisions these years free of her husband in such a positive light ultimately suggests that she was oppressed by the marriage. Louise is also described as "a goddess of Victory" when she emerges from her room, illuminating this epiphany as the high point in Louise’s
It is apparent that the narrator is aware of more than can be physically observed. Chopin, however, by no means, tells the audience what Mrs. Mallard is feeling inside. Instead, the audience has to investigate Mrs. Mallard 's actions and words in order to apprehend what Mrs. Mallard feels. Mrs. Mallard is once again returned to her marriage. The lines on her face "bespoke repression" (Paragraph 8).
Maturity of Kate Chopin’s “Ripe Figs” The author Kate Chopin is a woman born in the 1800’s who wrote about individuality of women and understanding a woman’s viewpoint during this time. How women were perceived back in the 19th century culturally and economically was as if they were property to be owned by anyone who pleases. An analysis of Chopin’s, “Ripe Figs” will show the use of theme through: religion, patience, and maturity by relating the maturity process to the seasons of the year and the ripening of the figs. The first theme that Kate Chopin provides an image of is patience. One way Chopin show’s patience in her writing is through her usage of comparing Maman-Nainaine to Babette.
Kate Chopin’s purpose for writing “The Story of an Hour” is to demonstrate the idea that with freedom comes delight and horror. She conveys this point by using characterization. At the beginning of the story, the audience reads that Mrs. Mallards husband has passed away. She is told by her sister that her husband has passed, but unlike most people, Mrs. Mallard does not “accept its significance” due to a “paralyzed inability.” Because of the inability, she is filled with misery and “physical exhaustion”, but not for long. She murmurs, free, free, free” as she realizes that due to the passing of her husband, she is now unrestricted to his will.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” readers are dropped into a deep conflict. A man must tell a woman that her husband is dead. In the beginning there is a subtle hint at the ironic twist ending, but the story goes on cooly in spite of it. Readers start to feel connected to Mrs. Mallard and begins to pity her situation, all because of irony. The effect of irony in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” enhances the protagonist’s situation, it introduces the effect of the foreshadowing, and indirectly characterizes the protagonist.
The author Kate Chopin is a woman born in the 1800’s who wrote about individuality of women and understanding a woman’s viewpoint during this time. How women were perceived back in the 19th century culturally and economically was as if they were property to be owned by anyone who pleases. An analysis of Chopin’s, “Ripe Figs” will show the use of theme through: religion, patience, and maturity by relating the maturity process to the seasons of the year and the ripening of the figs. The first theme that Kate Chopin provides an image of is patience. One-way Chopin show’s patience in her writing is through her usage of comparing Mamaine-Nainaine to Babette.