In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin demonstrates her ability to show characters’ drastic changes in personality and mentality through their way of thinking. Chopin’s protaggonist, Mrs. Mallard is suffering from the news of Mr. Mallard’s death, but her feelings are changing throughout the story. Mrs. Mallard is a feeble wife, who undergoes the grief of her husband’s death, finds relief and freedom, and for that she becomes a strong and independent woman.
The story greets it’s readers with Mrs. Mallard’s fragility. She is described to have a heart problem, so Josephine had to gently informed her sister of Mr. Mallard’s death (476). Chopin’s words indicates that Mrs. Mallard’s well-being is in a bad condition, not only her health but her personality is also fragile. The idea is further enhanced by Chopin’s statement, “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” (477). These words suggest Mrs. Mallard to be the passive in her relationship with Mr. Mallard.
Because of her husband’s repression in their relationship as mentioned in the above statement, Mrs. Mallard does not receive the news of Mr. Mallard’s death as she should be. Her reaction to the news is observed
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Mallard drastically changes from a timid wife to a strong and independent woman, and for this, she is full of joy. Through the open window, Mrs. Mallard is enjoying an elixir of life (477). She fancies living the days ahead so much that she wants it to be longer, although it was just yesterday that she afraid it would be too long (477). Mrs. Mallard is over-whelmed with joy thinking about the new life, the life in which she has the control over her own doings, the life in which she is free to follow her will. She is confident that her life is going to be better this way. Once a timid housewife, now she has changed for the better; now she is a strong and independent
Mallard after her sister tells her the news of her husband is not the common reaction expected when someone suddenly dies. Her reaction quotes, “She did hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment” (Chopin 653). This quote indicates the fact that she does not react the way that a spouse would when he or she’s spouse has passed and having the utter feeling of denial. Though uncertain of her own feelings, Chopin begins to describe Mrs. Mallard’s decaying thoughts of her former lifestyle into something more
Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Mallard is overwhelmed with grief, which swiftly turned into hope. Mrs. Mallard’s reaction upon receiving the news of her husband 's death is considered to be unusually by society’s standards. In the beginning of the story it is revealed that Mrs, Mallard suffers heart problems; however, when it is revealed that her husband is dead her heart is relieved. She was thrilled that she was able to be her own person again. It was revealed through her reflection on her marriage that she “had loved him - sometimes” (16). Mrs. Mallard overcame is quick to overcome her grief after the realization that she has been set free of her horrible marriage. As a married woman, Mrs. Mallard is miserable, but as a widow she feels a sense of relief that she is free of her marital vows. At the end of the story Mrs. Mallard dies of a failing heart which it ironic because typically a woman would be filled with joy to find out
In Kate Chopin’s “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 “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husband, yet Chopin uses several ironic situations and certain symbols to criticize the behavior of Mrs. Mallard during the time of her “loving” husband’s assumed death.
Mrs. Mallard reacts like any wife would do; she excused herself and locked herself up in her bedroom. However, while thinking about it, she feels happy about her husband's death. Not that her husband is a bad man, but she can sense
Typically when a woman loses her husband, the love of her life, especially in a horrific accident, she is usually in a state of sadness, however that is not the case for Mrs. Mallard. When she learns the news of her husband’s death, she does not ask her sister if she is sure that the news is true. Rather, she immediately acknowledges it. Most widows still would have been in denial, but Louis is not like most widows. She is not afraid to show feelings of pleasure; "she sees beyond the bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.
She begins to think about her life beyond the grasp of marriage and being controlled. She fled into her room and started drinking the very elixir of life through the open window. This can represent a form of rebirth for Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard knows that she can be the person she wants to be and she wont be controlled by her husband. Her husband won't be there to tell her what to do and how to live her life.
In Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”, she represents grief by showing the emotional effects on Mrs.Mallard. As she understands the significance of her husband’s death she will understand what it means for her future. Kate Chopin show how Mrs. Mallard expresses her stages of grief as she comes to terms with her husband’s death and new found freedom. In reality people recognize grief as someone who is mourning in tell-tale stages.
Mallard being a bad husband, the author makes no implications to such a thing. In fact, we are told that he “had never looked save with love upon her,” (CITE) which would imply she had no real ill feelings toward Mr. Mallard. That is, she had no real grounds for her negativity towards him. She even tried to appeal to her own emotions by pointing this reasoning out to herself, but in the end, she put up a poor defense of how she deserved to feel elated over her husband’s death. “What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion…” (CITE) Mrs. Mallard allowed her selfish emotions to take over, “her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her.” (CITE) This possibly even ruined a good thing between her and her husband. Then again, the love in the relationship seemed very one sided as Mrs. Mallard admitted that her love for her husband was not complete. The way she tosses aside a relationship like she did makes it challenging for one to sympathize with Mrs. Mallard's character.
In "The story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the complex character, Mrs. Mallard, In a most unusual manner. THe reader is led to believe that her husband has been killed in a railway accident. The other characters in the story are worried about how to break the news to her; they know whe suffers from a heart condition, and they fear for her health. On the surface, the story appears to be about how Mrs. Mallard deals with the news of the death of her husband. On a deeper level, however, the story is about the feeling of intense joy that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she realizes that she is free from the influences of her husband and the consequences of
“The Story of An Hour” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young nineteenth-century woman, Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the reader to cogitate a hidden meaning weaved into Kate‘s short story. Chopin had an idea that women felt confined in their marriages, and the idea is brought out through the protagonist’s initial reaction, excessive joy, and new perspective of the world following the upsetting news.
Kate Chopin’s impressive literary piece, The Story of an Hour, encompasses the story of an hour of life, an hour of freedom. We must seize the day and live our lives to the fullest without any constraints. This very rich and complete short story carries a lot of meaning and touches a readers feelings as well as mind. Throughout this piece much symbolism is brought about, which only helps us to understand the meaning and success of Kate Chopin’s work. Kate allows her reader to think and allows us to understand the meaning of her story with the different uses of symbols such as heart troubles, the armchair, the open window, springtime, and the calm face and goddess of victory. We eventually realize little by little that Mrs. Mallard
In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin describes to her readers a young woman’s response to her husband’s death, or at least his presumed death. The opinions readers will draw from this story will vary from person to person due to personal experiences. The experience and wisdom that I have gained through the trails and tribulations of my life help me to understand, relate, and even despise Mrs. Mallard’s character. On one hand, I feel pity for Mrs. Mallard. I think she felt trapped in a situation that she found to be inescapable. She felt lonely, restless, and did not know how to help herself. Yet, on the other hand, I do not feel sorry for
Kate Chopin's `The Story of an Hour' is a short yet complex piece describing the feelings of Mrs Mallard. This story is overflowing with symbolism and imagery. The most prominent theme here is the longing for freedom. Chopin focuses on unfolding the emotional state of Mrs Mallard which can be separated into three stages: quickly moving to grief, through a sense of newfound freedom, and finally into the despair of the loss of that freedom.
Mallard should have been in tears but it did not bother her. “ She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.” ( Chopin, 4 ) . Her marriage aged her, she was no longer the young woman she once was. The news of her husband's death did not upset or make her mad it gave her a sense of peace. Mrs. Mallard had a taste of freedom which gave her strength.
Mrs. Mallard did not respond to news of her husband’s death as other women had. Although other women might had stood shocked by the news, unable to grasp the fact that their husband was gone; Mrs. Mallard cried out at once. As soon as her grieving had passed, she went up to her room alone. By Mrs.