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By Kate Chopin "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 conflicting emotions and although she loved her husband and is very upset by his death, she cannot suppress the thoughts that she is now free to begin a new life without the restraints of having a husband. Mrs. Mallard experiences a joy and hope that will change her life now that she only has herself to think about. The story ends in a dramatic climax when Brently Mallard returns home, unhurt and not dead. The sight of seeing her husband alive causes Mrs.
Mallard to die of what the doctors's ay is a "heart disease - of joy that kills. "The Story of an Hour" portrays the social status or the Mallard family as working class. We know this because the author tells us that Brently Mallard works on the railroad. Throughout this short story there are examples showing how Mrs. Mallard's actions and ideas are focused on her freedom.
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. "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 "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 "monstrous joy" which reads thus. "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 their husband's and were submissive and did not challenge them in any way. Through the character of Louise Mallard, we are able to see the social repression that women felt at the time. They were oppressed by their husbands, even though they were loved by them. When Louise Mallard realizes that this is the dawning of a new life, "Free!
Body and soul free! she kept whispering... she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. " Those unbelievably radical words show her enormous hunger for freedom, her strong wish to be herself again. The sudden death of her husband has made her as free as any man and brought to an end the possession of her body and soul. I enjoyed this story and found that it presented me with many questions and conclusions. Kate Chopin wrote this story in 1894 during a time in which the women's suffrage movement was just beginning.
I felt that it portrayed the social situation of the time with the woman as prisoner of her husband. Many references to the oppression of women are very evident throughout the story. The choice of Mallard to me signify the fact that men were much more important during the Victorian era. A male mallard duck is very bright and colorful, whereas the female species is dull and brown.
When I first read the story I had the impression that Mrs. Mallard was an elderly lady, but later on Chopin tells us "She was young, " having "a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression. " This tells me that she was old for her age. The ending of the story also poses the question as to whether Mrs. Mallard died of shock at seeing her husband alive or her heart could not stand the thought of losing her newfound freedom and contentment as a single woman again that she lost the will to live.
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Research essay sample on Story Of An Hour Body And Soul
