Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” seems to explain and analyze how the relationship works in the bondage of marriage. Chopin illustrates that Mrs. Mallard’s emotion towards self assertion is very important for women who live under their husbands’ hands. Not everyone marries to separate. Some get freedom after marriage by simply taking divorce. In India, women fast for the safety and longevity of their husbands.
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.
The imagery in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is used to understand Mrs. Mallard as a character, express the theme of freedom, and to identify the irony in “death by joy.” First of all, imagery is used in “The Story of an Hour” to help the reader understand Mrs. Mallard as a character. A long list of the deaths from the crash were delivered to the newspaper office. Leading the list off, right up top, was “Brently Mallard.” Right away, Kate Chopin tells the reader that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with heart disease. Brently Mallard’s friend, Richards, comes to break the news to Mrs. Mallard. “It was her sister, Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” (6).
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.
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.
About the story: The short story was first published in Vogue in 1894 under the title “The Dream of an Hour”. Later on in 1969, in the Complete Works of Kate Chopin the story became entitled as “The Story of an Hour”. The title implies that the timeframe of the story is one hour. This short story is a sample of feminist literary study. Characters of “The Story of an Hour”: Louise Mallard: she is referred to by her married name which implies the great extent to which her identity is linked to her husband.
The topic I chose to conduct my research on is the short story “The Story of an Hour”, by Kate Chopin. While reading this story the deeper meaning may not be initially apparent, but after some careful analyzation it is clear what led to Mrs. Mallard’s demise. I have chosen to conduct my research on “The Story of an Hour” because I previously studied it in my Intro to Fiction course last semester and it’s impactful message stood out. The deeper message being communicated through “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is how oppression by patriarchal forces hinders female independence. If the last line of “The Story of an Hour” is taken in the literal sense, it can be perceived that Mrs. Mallard was not oppressed and was ecstatic that her husband was alive, ultimately being killed by the excitement.
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.
Tommy Chung Mrs. Martin TSW 1,2,4,6,7 2016/10/6 Analysis of “The Story of An Hour” In the story, “The Story of An Hour”, the main character is Louise Mallard. She is a dynamic character. She internally changed throughout the story. In the beginning of the story, she heard the news of her husband’s death in train accident from her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend, Richard. She was shocked by the news and showed sad feelings in the story.
“Women's liberation is characterized as the hypothesis of the political, monetary, and social correspondence of the genders” (Merriam Webster). Woman's rights are an important piece of the short story, "The Story of an Hour" is a short story in which Kate Chopin, the author, demonstrates a frequently unthinkable perspective of marriage. Mrs. Louise Mallard, the main character, encounters the thrill of opportunity as conflicting to the devastation of depression after she learns of her husband’s death. Subsequently, when Mrs. Mallard realizes that her husband, Brently, still lives, she recognizes that all hope of opportunity is no more. The shocking disappointment kills Mrs. Mallard.