Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essay - 560 Words

In Kate Chopin’s short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the author shows us the response of a young woman to her husband’s presumed death. Before the news, the widow, Mrs. Mallard, felt trapped in a situation she found to be inescapable. Her marriage made her feel as though her will wasn’t really her own, that she wasn’t really free. However, when the news of her husband’s death reaches her, she finally begins to feel that she has a chance to be free. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; During her mingled exaltation and grief, it occurred to her that â€Å"[there] would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature† (189). Although he only†¦show more content†¦In their minds, Mrs. Mallard was so elated at seeing her husband alive again that her heart couldn’t take it and she just died. In reality, I believe the renewed drive to live was crushed out of her at that moment, where she realized that her chance for a free life just wasn’t going to happen. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister is a more traditional character for the particular time period in which this story was written. While she and Mrs. Mallard may not seem so different on the surface, at the heart of the matter she is almost a foil. Josephine expects her sister to make herself sick with grief over the loss of her husband. After all, is not a woman to live but for her husband? Or at least, that was according to most of the thinking at the time. Instead, Mrs. Mallard was â€Å"drinking in a very elixir of life† (190). She may have even been more healthy at that moment than she ever had with her husband. A person’s level of happiness has been known to affect health, after all. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Chopin uses false hope to truly identify the character of Mrs. Mallard. Where she’d once been dreading a long life, she began to hope for it upon the death of her husband. However, when she finds out that her husband isn’t really dead, she loses the will for a long life and simply dies right there.Show MoreRelatedAn Analysis of Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour1150 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour is a perfect example of literature that glorifies the commonplace event: the story depicts a gigantic event in the life of its protagonist by using a minimalist economy of means. The opening sentence of The Story of an Hour carefully sets up the conclusion of the story. Chopin is working with such limited space here that it resembles more the crafting of a poem than a fictional narrative. We are told that Mrs Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble so greatRead MoreEssay on Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour537 Words    |  3 Pages In Kate Chopins short story quot;The Story of an Hour,quot; there is much hatred. The first hatred detected is in the way that Louise reacts to the news of the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard. Before Louises reaction is revealed, Chopin turns to how the widow feels by describing the world according to her outlook of it after the bad news. Louise is said to quot;not hear the story as many women have heard the same.quot; Rather, she accepts it and goes to her room to be alone. Now the personRead MoreSymbolism In Kate Chopins The Story Of An Hour1013 Words   |  5 PagesWhile most of Kate Chopin’s short stories were well received, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was originally rejected by publishers until 1894 when Vogue decided to publish the short story. However after her death most of Chopin’s work was forgotten, that was until the 1950s when her work again was recognized as insightful and moving, setting into motion a Kate Chopin revival which was both successful and remarkable (Biography). â€Å"The Story of an Hour† focuses on the liberation and new found freedom of a newlyRead MoreKate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essay803 Words   |  4 PagesIn Kate Chopin’s â€Å"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 â€Å"The Story of an Hour† the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husbandRead MoreCriticism In Kate Chopins The Story Of An Hour830 Words   |  4 Pagesintroduction to any other writer with this kind of writing style to verify my assertion of Kate Chopin’s work, nonetheless Chopin does a brilliant job of exhibiting her Creole background in her work coherently. Although many may argue that modern feminism has taken a new meaning compared to its’ early beginnings. Chopin exhibited a hint of feminism through characters like Clarisse and Mrs. Mallard. In The Story of An Hour, Chopin crafted Mrs. Mallards Character as woman who seem to yearn for freedom to theRead MoreKate CHopins Story of an Hour Essay1271 Words   |  6 Pages In Kate Chopins Story of an Hour the author portrays patriarchal oppression in the institution of marriage by telling the story of one fateful hour in the life of a married woman. Analyzing the work through feminist criticism, one can see the implications of masculine discourse. Mrs. Mallards medical diagnosis is an example of the male-dominated society in which she lives. They are able to tell her that she indeed has a heart condition, but are unable to treat her effectivelyRead MoreEssay on Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour655 Words   |  3 PagesKate Chopins The Story of an Hour In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin, the author depicts how someone can be trapped in an unproductive and unsatisfying reality because of other’s thoughtlessness, exploitation, and domination. When combined with the contemporary society’s belief, presumably the later half of the 19th century, a further understanding of Chopin’s thoughts and feelings can be realized. Mrs. Louise Mallard, the victim and messenger of this story, is the image of such aRead MoreEssay on Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour911 Words   |  4 Pages Women should be powerful, beautiful and intelligence. Nevertheless, women in the eighteenth century were portrayed as servants did not have any say in anything just like the story of an hour by Kate Chopin, where even in a good marriage you could not do the things you wanted to do. What if their husbands died what would come of them? How would they feel? And the irony of gaining freedom but losing everything? In the eighteenth century, Women were portrayed as powerless beneath the men becauseRead More Irony in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essays1295 Words   |  6 PagesIrony in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour A very dull and boring story can be made into a great story simply by adding in something that is unexpected to happen. When the unexpected is used in literature it is known as irony. An author uses irony to shock the reader by adding a twist to the story. The author of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is Kate Chopin. Her use of irony in the story is incredibly done more than once. Irony is thinking or believing some event will happen but in return the unexpectedRead MoreThe Story of a Widow in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essay840 Words   |  4 Pagespersistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.† Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is the story of a woman’s reaction to the news of her husband’s passing. Mrs. Louise Mallard is a young woman most would conclude to be saddened by the passing of her husband. Yet it is in that very moment we find her true feelings. Kate Chopin was born Katherine O’Flaherty on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis Missouri. She was the only child born to her