Kate Chopins' Awakening is Not a Tragedy
When we think of a tragedy, thoughts of lost love and torments abound.
The most human of emotions, sorrow, overwhelms us. We agonize over the
tragedy, and the tragic figure. We lose sight of reality, enthralled by
the suspense, captured by the Irony that, "we know" what plight lies ahead
for the characters. We feel the suffering and the helplessness of the
characters as the tragedy unwinds. Although Kate Chopins' The Awakening
is a powerful story, it is by no means a tragedy. The
Awakening does not posses the necessary components of a tragedy. There is
no tragic figure, there is no tragic plot or theme, and the ending is far
from tragic.
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As a result of all this, Edna starts
to yearn for excitement, for adventure, and for an escape. She begins to
see her true self buried beneath the formalities of Creole life, thus she
rebels. Edna becomes enraptured by the search for the most desirable of
human traits, freedom. Edna has no tragic flaw or character trait. On the
contrary, she knows what she wants her life to hold, and she leaps for it.
All of her actions are aimed towards fulfillment of her dream. She wants to
be again as she was as a child, free to wander, free to experiment, and
free to love at will. Edna transforms herself from an obedient housewife,
to a woman who is alive with strength of character and unrepressed emotion.
These are not the actions of a tragic character. Rather, they signify a
character who is in pursuit of happiness. Edna does not have the capability
to be a tragic figure. She is not one who captures the love of the audience.
Her actions actually cause her to be an unlikeable character. For example,
she abandons her children, cheats on her husband, and lives her live in a
selfish, self satisfying manner. Seeing that Edna is the main character,
and the plot revolves around her the fact that she is not tragic removes
the potential for the plot to be somewhat tragic.
Furthermore, The Awakening does not posses the plot or thematic
aspects of a tragedy. The plot of a
Setting exists in every form of fiction, representing elements of time, place, and social context throughout the work. These elements can create particular moods, character qualities, or features of theme. Throughout Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," differing amounts and types of the setting are revealed as the plot develops. This story deals with a young woman's emotional state as she discovers her own independence in her husband's death, then her "tragic" discovery that he is actually alive. The constituents of setting reveal certain characteristics about the main character, Louise Mallard, and are functionally important to the story
about it. The end of the story is open and there are a lot of symbols in the story so
realizes she has a long journey ahead of her, but will do whatever it takes to help her
people often too caution, but it is also evident that she wished to be free and to live her life despite her
symbolism he renders her that she was odd and disappointing to the perspective of others.
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.
In Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," 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 Louise's 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 "not hear the story as many women have heard the same." Rather, she accepts it and goes to her room to be alone. Now the person reading starts to see the world through Louise's eyes, a world full of new life.
There is no resolution and the reader is left to make up whatever ending they think this story
caused her to be seen as a mischief and for the cause of the downfall of man. For the
Shakespeare's play, Hamlet illustrates the tragedy of a young prince's pursuit to obtain revenge for a corrupt act, the murder of his father. As the exposition unfolds, we find Prince Hamlet struggling with internal conflict over who and what was behind his father's death. His struggle continues as he awaits the mystic appearance of a ghost who is reported to resemble his father. Suddenly it appears, proclaiming, "Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing / To what I shall unfold" (1.5.5-6). The ghost continues to speak providing an important clue: "The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown" (1.5.38-39). In short, this passage reveals evidence leading to the identity of whom
glimpse the meaning and fulfillment of her life. “To be fully alive, means to engage in
to pity by the death of one of the characters. For the audience it is
"Desiree's Baby", by Kate Chopin, is a story about the effect love and pride have on our actions. Love changes people for the better. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Pride, however, can have the opposite effect. Pride is spurred on by a dislike of falling below your standards. Pride doesn't leave much room for mercy and kindness and it makes people think of "self" first
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short yet complex story, describing Mrs Mallard’s feelings. It focuses on the unfolding emotional state of Mrs Mallard after the news of her husbands death, and has overflowing symbolism and imagery. It is an impressive literary piece that touches the readers’ feelings and mind and allows the reader to have a connection to Mrs Mallard’s emotional process. Although the story is short, it is complete with each word carrying deep sense and meaning. It is written in the 19th century, a time that had highly restrictive gender roles that forbade women to live as they saw fit. Mrs Mallard experiences something not everyone during this time has the luck to have; the happiness of freedom that the reader only
In “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 a person. Her relationship with her husband is so oppressive and limiting that even death is considered a reasonable means of escape. The condition of life for Mrs. Mallard is terrible, yet for some reason she doesn’t seem to come to the full