Analyzing Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour Essay

The mysteries of love, hate, and compassion are all part of marriage. The mysteries of the heart are felt in the short story, The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin (Clugston, 2010, sec 2.1). This story pulls you in with the suspense of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition and the idea of her husband’s death. When you first begin to read this story you get a feeling of compassion for Mrs. Mallard having a heart condition. As the reader you receive sadness within you to know the revealing of her husband’s death may harm her in some way, only to find out that love isn’t that simple and maybe it was the news of her husband being alive that killed her. In this story the narrator focuses on how Mrs. Mallard copes with the death of her husband. The†¦show more content†¦The use of symbolism which the narrator uses is creative. In order to grasp the true meaning of this story you really need to open the imagination as well as have an idea of how many marriages fun ction out of the eyes of most people. In the phrase â€Å"There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window† (Clugston, 2010, sec 2.1), this may be symbolic of how Mrs. Mallard’s life was. The patches of blue sky could be the turmoil she felt in her marriage and the turmoil’s (clouds) just kept building up in her life creating conflict about her true feeling for her husband. Conflict in Mrs. Mallard’s emotions set the stage for the theme of a woman broken from the news of her husband’s death however Mrs. Mallard is also feeling emancipation. A new beginning in life has commenced. â€Å"She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will† (Clugston, 2010, sec 2.1) brings a focus to the reader that Mrs. Mallard is possibly feeling a sense of guilt for feeling somewhat hap py about her new beginning and still feeling sad from the death of a man she had created a life around. The idea that her life will finally be her own and no longer existing for someone else may bringShow MoreRelatedThe Unique Style Of Kate Chopin s Writing1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe unique style of Kate Chopin’s writing has influenced and paved the way for many female authors. Although not verbally, Kate Chopin aired political and social issues affecting women and challenging the validity of such restrictions through fiction. Kate Chopin, a feminist in her time, prevailed against the notion that a woman’s purpose was to only be a housewife and nothing more. Kate Chopin fortified the importance of women empowerment, self-expression, self-assertion, and female sexuality throughRead MoreKate Chopin The Story of an Hour Critical Analysis Essay1377 Words   |  6 PagesOctober 2012 Self-Identity, Freedom, and Death in Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† 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 â€Å"The Story of an Hour† argues that an individual discover their self-identity only after being freed from confinement. The story also argues that freedom is a very powerfulRead MoreSymbolism as Found in Kate Chopins Story of an Hour Essay1532 Words   |  7 Pagesas found in Kate Chopin’s â€Å"Story of an Hour† In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"Story of an Hour† the protagonist, Louise Mallard, is going through a life-changing event that is brought on by the news of the death of her husband, Brently Mallard. During this hour, she is told of her husband’s death, grieves for a short time, discovers that she will now be able to â€Å"live for herself† (16) and is finally able to free herself of the restrictive marriage she has been living in. The end of her last hour comes when sheRead MoreEssay on Freedom in Kate Chopins The Story of An Hour1087 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom in Kate Chopins The Story of An Hour In Kate Chopins The Story of An Hour the theme is found within the concept of how someone can be trapped in a repressive, unsatisfying reality because of anothers thoughtless oppression and manipulation. When combined with the contemporary societys beliefs --- presumably the later half of the 19th century for this story -- a further understanding of Chopins thoughts and feelings can be realized. Mrs. Louise Mallard, the victim and messengerRead MoreThe Awakening Historicism Analysis968 Words   |  4 PagesA New Historicism Analysis of The Awakening Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a story written in the late 19th century about a woman named Edna becoming independent and finding herself in a time when women had little to no rights and people saw them as the property of their husband. This is a new historicism literary criticism, analyzing how what was going on in the time period influenced this novel. Racism, sexism, and feminism were all going on at this time and therefore influenced it greatly. DuringRead MoreKate Chopin s The Story Of An Hour1921 Words   |  8 Pagesapproaches. For Kate Chopin, the famous author of â€Å"The Awakening† and â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, her most successful approach was to provide audiences with short stories that proposed meaningful and strong messages. However, Kate Chopin’s powerful feminist images that were present throughout her writing has mostly flaunted Chopin as only a â€Å"pioneering feminist writer,† which has led to other messages Chopin incorporated in her writing into being overlooked. In Kate Chopin’s, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the shortRead MoreAnalysis Of Kate Chopin s Story Of An Hour993 Words   |  4 PagesIrony in â€Å"Story of an Hour† In Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"Story of an Hour†, Irony, or the expression of meaning that traditionally indicates the contrary of what is expected, plays a huge role in deciphering the theme and underlying motifs of the story that takes the reader through the hour of Mrs. Mallard’s life after her husband supposedly dies. Through Irony, Kate Chopin effectively portrays the forbidden joy of independence (SparkNotes Editors). The theme is portrayed by the author’s emphasisRead MoreLiberation And Freedom Are Exquisite Possessions. The Possible1698 Words   |  7 Pagescharacters in Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and James Joyce’s â€Å"Eveline†. Mrs. Mallard and Eveline are standing at the threshold of a raw life story. The difference between the two is that while Mrs. Mallard is eagerly looking forward to her new found freedom, Eveline is deeply panic-struck from the thought of freedom. When the characters are at a point in their life that offers an escape into the enchanting world of the unknown, both react differently. Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and JamesRead MoreLiterary Perspectives1379 Words   |  6 Pageswithin the confines of the text itself. Poetry, in particular, as well as drama and fiction lend themselves well as genres to the â€Å"close reading† involved in the formalist technique. Formalists might approach Kate Chopin’s â€Å" The Story of an Hour†(15) by analyzing the ironic ending of the story. Mrs. Mallard suddenly dies of a heart attack, not because her husband has died in a horrific train crash but because she has learned that he is very much alive. The disparate nature between what is expectedRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1542 Words   |  7 PagesIn the short story, â€Å"Story of an Hour†, Kate Chopin writes about a woman with heart trouble, Mrs. Mallard, who, in finding out about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard, experiences some initial feelings of sadness which quickly transition into the exhilarating discovery of the idea of a newfound freedom lying in front of her. When it is later revealed that her husband is not actually dead, she realizes she will not get to taste that freedom. The devastation kills her. What Mrs. Mallard goes through