Symbolism In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a short story of a married woman reacting to the news of her husband’s death occurred in a train accident. During the late nineteenth century, women were to be dependent on their husbands as they did not have any power to express their emotions in the society. Women were meant to do all the household chores and take care of the family while the husband went to work. In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin skillfully uses the character, Mrs. Mallard, and symbols, such as closed door versus open window and heart trouble to give a better understanding of the theme of the joy of independence in the story.

Mrs. Louise Mallard, the main character from Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” is not the housewife that those around her assume. Although she loves her husband, she is shocked and overwhelmed by the sense of new-found freedom that accompanies her husband’s alleged death. Mrs. Mallard represents the patriarchal control over women of her time, as well as the postulation that a woman could not maintain her independence. Chopin uses Louise Mallard’s reactions to her husband’s supposed death, her subsequent untimely death, and the speculations of those around her to personify the dependent nature that was imposed on women of the turn-of-the-century.

Kate Chopin’s short tale, “The Story of an Hour”, is a writing of irony. It tells of a young women, who’s husband has just died and who seems to be in a state of grief, when she is truly embracing her new found freedom, where she is no longer repressed by her husband. This short story shares similar themes with the article, “Enfranchisement of Women” written by Harriet Mills. An article about the subjection of women in society, and how civilization is afflicted because of it.

A critical feminist view of Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour focuses on female cruelty in the nineteenth century society and more specifically in marriages of the time. During that time period, women were owned by their husbands and had little to no control over their own lives, so in a sense women felt trapped inside of their marriages. The demonstration that is expressed in The Story of an Hour is the sense of freedom Louis Mallard experiences after she is aware of her husband’s death by a train accident. After Mrs. Mallard is told this expectantly tragic news, she goes off to her room alone, where one is predicted to believe she is going to grieve over her husband’s death.

In “The Story of an Hour,” the author, Kate Chopin, places several literary writing elements into her short story. However, one of the most prominent components would be the character analysis of Mrs. Louise Mallard, the story’s protagonist. Kate Chopin uses situations and events throughout the story to mold and set the emotions and thoughts of Mrs. Louise Mallard’s character. Despite the eighteenth century’s idea that women should willingly give up their lives for their husbands, Louise’s mindset after hearing of her husband’s passing shows otherwise. Moreover, Mavis Chia-Chieh Tseng wrote an analysis of Mrs. Louise and concluded, “after hearing the news of her husband’s untimely passing, the protagonist, Mrs. Louise Mallard, is grief-stricken at first, but soon other thoughts creep into her mind” (29). This statement validates the belief that Louise Mallard responds differently than many individuals, such as her sister Josephine, would expect her to react in the unfortunate situation that has been placed upon her. Kate Chopin portrays Louise Mallard’s character as a strong and independent, yet deeply troubled woman struggling to live in an unhappy and restricting marriage during the late eighteenth century, when women had little to no personal freedom.

In the “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, is about pleasure of freedom and the oppression of marriage. Just like in Kate Chopin’s story, inside most marriages, even the ones that seem to be the happiest, one can be oppressed. Even though, one might seem to be happy deep inside they miss the pleasure of freedom and living life to the fullest. Just like, in this story Mrs. Mallard feels trapped and when she hears about her husband’s death she first feels distraught, but ultimately realizes that she has gained her freedom. This news leads her to an inner battle within herself, as she tries to keep those feelings from coming out. The story culminates when she dies of a heart attack, because she realizes that her husband is not dead and she would be returning to her old pointless existence. This story has many great literary elements that keep the story interesting throughout its plot, by using great foreshadowing and symbolism.

“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.

“The Story of an Hour”, told by Kate Chopin, is a story about Mrs. Mallard, a woman whose husband is assumed to be dead. Chopin conveys the feelings and thoughts Mrs. Mallard experienced after hearing news of her husband’s passing. Surprisingly, these emotions described were not anguish and grief, but something much different. The senses she felt were primarily feelings of relief, almost to a point of rejoice in the idea that her husband was no longer in her life. Throughout the story, by using a variety of literary elements, Chopin expresses this idea

“The Story of an Hour” is one of the short stories written by Kate Chopin that evokes the reader’s mind with the antic of a Victorian woman who does not react in an expected way a wife supposed to when the news of her husband’s death reaches her. Instead, she cherishes it and she feels liberated. It can be explored that the use of language and how Mrs Mallard views her marriage are remarkable to the reader. The language used by Chopin to indicate how Mrs Mallard feels over her dead husband is not directly spoken.

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

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is written for the reader to see inside the thought process of a woman learning of her husband’s death. This short story starts with the unfortunate news of a husband’s death and ends with an overjoyed dead widow. It is clear this story has an undertone of feminism due to the reaction of Mrs. Mallard upon hearing of her husband’s death. Naturally, this news leaves a wife devastated, but Mrs. Mallard is pleased to hear of the tragedy. The reader can easily mistake the wife’s tears of joy for tears of sorrow in the beginning of the story. However, Chopin leaves many hints along the way for the reader to interpret as he/she reads.

We expect grieving of close friends and family and there is a certain kind of grief that we consider normal for each of the roles different people play in our lives. Both the writer and the main character were women in the nineteenth century, as such they both were expected to act in accordance with societal views of marriage and women of the time. The main character (Mrs. Mallard) has an interesting interaction with the way we expected wives to grieve husbands at this time. When Mr. Mallard dies, the absence of her husband leads Mrs. Mallard to realizing she loves independence.

“The story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin is an influential story about Mrs. Mallard who is given the terrible news that her husband has died in a train accident. She is overwhelmed by her spouse’s death and excuses herself, instantly hurries to her bedroom where a different side of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions are shown. Mrs. Mallard has taken on an altered viewpoint of life now. She is saddened about her spouse dying but she has something to be pleased about which is being herself. The central character, Mrs. Mallard shows opinions and feelings that can support and go against the feminist theory.

While most of Kate Chopin’s short stories were well received, “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). “The Story of an Hour” focuses on the liberation and new found freedom of a newly widowed woman. The short story, told from Louise Mallard’s point of view, follows Louise’s emotions, thoughts, and eventual death in the hour she is told her husband has died. Through “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin uses symbolism,

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin describes an hour in the life of an oppressed woman bound by marriage in the nineteenth century. It is only when Mrs. Mallard’s husband dies in a sudden railroad accident that she realizes she is no longer tied together by the ropes of man. At first she is shocked and horrified by the tragedy, for she did say “she had loved him – sometimes” (Chopin). However, once the tears were wept, a new bountiful life of freedom was now in the eyes of Mrs. Mallard. Chopin uses imagery, third person omniscient point of view, and concepts of relief and joy in “The Story of an Hour” to convey the true feelings of Mrs. Mallard as she is freed from the strenuous and unjust oppression of women due to society’s expectation of gender roles.