The Story of an Hour Essay example - 846 Words

â€Å"The Story of an Hour† By Kate Chopin â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin describes the thoughts and feelings that are depicted in a single hour of the life of Louise Mallard after hearing that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. As the story begins we are told that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with a heart condition so the news of her husband’s death is broken to her gently by her sister. Mrs. Mallard’s initial reaction, upon hearing of her husband’s death is one of grief. She wishes to be left alone to grieve in her room upstairs in the house. However, during the hour she spends sitting in an armchair alone in the room, her state of mind changes dramatically. She is faced with†¦show more content†¦The author also describes the realization of freedom as if it were a tangible thing, there was something coming to her and she was waiting for it. There are also thoughts and ideas that show Mrs. Mallard realizing that love is by no means a substitute for independence. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† also deals with societal conflicts through their impact on the protagonist. Mrs. Mallard is seen to be unaware of the conflict and resulting oppression, until events occur that force her to see it. She is ultimately defeated by the social conflicts, but the really important point of the story is not winning or losing the struggle, but the change that comes about as a result of the struggle. Feminism and gender literacy perspectives play a major role in â€Å"The Story of an Hour†. This is evident from the beginning of the story when we do not find our Mrs. Mallard’s first name until after her husband’s death. This shows us that she was not important enough to warrant a first name until she was no longer dependent upon her husband. The description of woman’s repression is evident when Chopin gives us the reason for Mrs. Mallard’s â€Å"monstrous joy† which reads thus. â€Å"There would be now 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.† Women in Victorian times did what they were told by theirShow MoreRelatedThe Story Of An Hour And The Story Of An Hour2009 Words   |  9 PagesWomen are taught from a young age that marriage is the end all be all in happiness, in the short story â€Å"The Story of An Hour† by Kate Chopin and the drama â€Å"Poof!† by Lynn Nottage, we learn that it is not always the case. Mrs. Mallard from â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Loureen from â€Å"Poof!† are different characteristically, story-wise, and time-wise, but share a similar plight. Two women tied down to men whom they no longer love and a life they no longer feel is theirs. Unlike widows in happy marriagesRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour854 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"The Story of an Hour† we are taken through a journey. The journey is the thoughts and emotions going through Mrs. Mallards (Louise) mind. The journey only takes an hour, so everything moves at a fast pace. Louise seemed to process the news of her husband’s death without an i nitial element of disbelief and shock. She goes right into the reaction of grieving for her husband. She quickly begins to feel other emotions. At first she does not understand them. The journey is a way that Louise comesRead MoreStory of an Hour1203 Words   |  5 PagesThe Story of an Hour 1. There are many themes in The Story of An Hour; ‘heart trouble’ – which describes not only the physical affliction of Mrs Mallard but also the emotional suffering in her marriage. Three other themes that are prominent within this story are; death, freedom and oppression. Though, the themes of freedom and oppression can be seen as the main themes within this story, as we see the character of Mrs Mallard – a Mallard is a type of wild duck, which can be seen as being symbolicRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour1414 Words   |  6 Pagesarticle would be bad satire, a bad argument. Chongyue and Lihua’s â€Å"A Caricature of an Ungrateful and Unfaithful Wife† distorts Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† through imaginative exaggeration of character interaction, emotional ignorance, and its simplification of the characters and the text. Firstly, there is no evidence in the text of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† to suggest that Louise Mallard has been at all unfaithful to her husband. One sentence within the article suggests that some readers have sensedRead MoreStory of an Hour848 Words   |  4 PagesStory of an Hour Kate Chopin s the Story of an Hour includes a vast amount of literary devices. Irony, foreshadowing, personification, imagery, symbolism, metaphor and repetition are some of the major literary techniques used by Chopin within this short story about a woman named Mrs. Mallard. Although the story covers only one hour in the life of the main character, the use of these various literary techniques present the theme of the story to the reader in a very entertaining manner. TheRead MoreStory of an Hour619 Words   |  3 Pages â€Å"The story of an hour† is a short story written by Kate Chopin. According to Wikipedia, she was born Katherine O’Flaherty on February 8, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was an American author of short stories and novels. She is now considered by some to have been a forerunner of feminist authors of the 20th century. â€Å"The story of an hour† was written on April 19, 1894 but was originally published in Vogue on December 6, 1894 as â€Å"The Dream of an Hour†. It was first reprintedRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour1169 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a story that in a few pages creates commentary, emotions, and thoughts about a simple yet very important part of every civilization. It is quite amazing that a short story written over a hundred years ago is still relevant to our society today. Every successful civilization has had some form of marriage, and while this story is to many criticizing the institution of marriage, I believe that people could see this dichotomy of oppressor vs oppressed that this story triesRead MoreThe Story of an Hour1203 Words   |  5 PagesAyodeji Ilesanmi Ms. Pape English 1302.626 February 23, 2012 Part One: Alternate ending to â€Å"The Story of an Hour† â€Å"Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey, it was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine s piercing cry; at Richards quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife† (Chopin, 16). Read MoreThe Story of an Hour960 Words   |  4 PagesIn The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin suggests that in certain scenarios, the death of a loved one may be a blessing in disguise. Possible situations may include an abusive relationship, or an unhappy marriage, as the story suggests. Although the circumstances throughout the story might lead the reader to believe that Louises husbands death would cause her great pain, ironically, when she hears the news, she feels a sense of euphoria. This suggests that death may not always cause agony. LouisesRead MoreA Story Of An Hour1289 Words   |  6 PagesMost stories have more than one conflict, some bigger than others, but all important as a story progressives to the very moment everything clicks and comes together. After that point, the story starts to wind down, lose ends are tied, and the reader gets the satisfying feeling of a happy ending. The Story of an Hour is not your typical short story; but is similar to others in the way that conflicts are the leading force behind a short story. This story starts with Mrs. Mallard finding out any wife’s