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Kate Chopin woke people up to the feelings and minds of women writers in the nineteenth century by crossing forbidden borders of the Victorian Era. Author and feminist Kate Chopin was born on February 8, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri. The American writer wrote the short story The Story of an Hour in 1894 (Toth 5). Chopin lived during the Victorian Era and was a first hand witness to the suppression women faced in the late nineteenth century. Unlike most women at that time, Chopin was far from a conformist (Petry 8).
She showed increasing concern for women and she responded with scandalous writings dealing explicitly with love, sex, and marriage (Thomas 19). The Story of an Hour revolves around what goes through a person s head when informed that a close family member has died, in this case the husband. Upon hearing of her husband s death, Mrs. Mallard was faced with conflicting emotions that she does not quite understand.
In this famous short story, Kate s refusal to be silenced is all too evident. Her well- thought out stories reflect her own life as well as her interest in female independence, male dominance, and issues of selfhood, during a time period in which it was unexpected and not always embraced with open arms. Chopin s fathers death prompted her to live her childhood years without a father, being raised in a matriarchal environment would shape the rest of Chopin s life as well as her style of writing (Petry 35) After the death of her father she was then left living with her mother and her great grandmother (Toth 12). Being raised by two females resulted in Chopin s great independence and interest in female self -assertion. Her great grandmother set an example for Chopin at a very young age and she came to understand that women could be as tough minded and self reliant as men, that gender roles had more to do with economic power than with biology and that social institutions such as marriage, often were at cross purposes with natural impulses including sexual passion (Petry 2) All of these elements are prominent in her writings. Chopin grew up knowing that women could be strong and intelligent and that they did not have to be submissive creatures (Petry 131).
In the nineteenth century it was almost un heard of for wife to outlive her husband many women died during childbirth, Chopin s mother and great grandmother both outlived their husbands (Toth 11). Chopin returned to school at the Sacred Heart Academy when she was seven years old, two years after her father s death. The Sacred Heart was taught by nuns who educated their student s to be knowledgeable, clear, and independent thinkers (Toth 15). Her writings of independence and female self-assertion were shaped by her unusual upbringing during the nineteenth century.
Having grown up around independent women, Chopin soon became very independent herself, although this did not stop her from marriage. She married Oscar Chopin in 1870 when she was 20 years old. She moved to New Orleans, where Oscar was originally from to set up their home, they did not move into his house but they bought a house of their own. Moving away from what she called home for 20 years would be a big step for Chopin, she now has to make her own decisions and learn of a whole new world miles away from what she calls home.
Moving to Louisiana had caused Chopin to grow up fast resulting in her great independence. Oscar s family viewed her independence with suspicion, Chopin being as independent as she was would take walks around the block by herself, this to them was very strange and enough to cause suspicion by her new in-laws. (Toth 67) Her marriage to Oscar was a happy one: Kate was devoted to Oscar and thought him perfect (Toth 54) Her love for independence had once again resulted in others not accepting of the person that she was. Along with the death of a husband can bring about a newfound sense of freedom and a rediscovery of who you are. (Toth 190). Oscar Chopin died when Chopin was only 32 years old.
Simarlily Mrs. Mallard who was also young now has to discover how life would be without her husband. The news of Mrs. Mallards husband s death was that of a tragedy yet at the same time the thought of a new found life and freedom without her husband entraps her. Chopin was familiar with the role of widowhood and was ready to handle the many tasks that went along with it. She was left to raise her six children alone (Petry 150).
Along with the death of her husband Chopin was forced to find many new roles for herself; one of her new roles would be that of a writer (Petry 155). Kate did not publish any of her works until after the death of her husband (Toth 93). In 1884 Chopin returned home in St. Louis to be a daughter to her mother once again, that was short lived when her mother died a year later. Another death in the family had caused Chopin to live life on her own as she was beginning to get used to. (Toth 178).
Widowhood is a tragedy yet at the same time a blessing in disguise to those who experience again a new sense of self. A few key figures influenced Chopin to start writing about many unspoken issues of the time. Doctor Fredrick Kolbembeyer was a life long friend, whose support she always relied on. Raised in Australia and then exiled for his beliefs, Kolbemheyer was a philosopher and encouraged Chopin to read Darwin, Harley, and Spencer. Their beliefs were very similar and he supported her when she denounced the Catholic religion after the death of her mother (Petry 150). Critics believe that Chopin s readings of these scientists who believed in survival of the fittest were the reason behind her questioning of the constraints that were put upon women.
In The Story of an Hour Chopin questions the question of marriage, possibly as a result of her questioning morals (Hicks 3). Kolbemeher encouraged Chopin to publish her letters. The greatest influence on Chopin was the French writer Guy de Maupassant. Chopin describes Maupassant by writing here was a man who escaped from tradition and authority, looked out upon life through his own being with his own eyes; and who, in a direct and simple way told what he saw (Toth 167). Taken in account Chopin s childhood and her influence by many non-traditional writers and friends, she developed her own style of writing that was far different than any other during that time (Toth 167). The desire for independence from male domination is well illustrated in The Story of an Hour just as many women desired the same during the Victorian era.
After hearing the news of her husbands death she wept at once, with wild abandonment, in her sister s arms (Chopin 397) she is not weeping over the loss of her husband but for her new found freedom. Hearing the news of her husband s death in a railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard isolates herself in her room. She sits in her armchair looking out the open window.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life (Chopin 397) Chopin uses the open window and a spring day as symbols of freedom. Her husband was the only one holding her back and he is no longer with her. The spring day is a new beginning for her in which she has found liberty. Women were molded into an ideal form from the time they were born, they were told how to dress, how to act and how they should speak. They lacked education and rights in any form. Every aspect of their life was ruled by a male through childhood well into marriage, where it was the husband who had full control (Thomas 19).
Women were to be seen and not to be heard. The reaction Mrs. Mallard exhibits is the conscious and subconscious feeling that women hold towards men and their dominance over them especially in the nineteenth century. The Story of an Hour represents some of the harsh realities that life can present, Chopin can also relate to these realities in her own life. The death of a husband is a reality and just as it happened to Mrs. Mallard it also happened to Chopin at a young age.
The allusion and unexpected joy are the keys to bringing Mrs. Mallard to her own death. Death has been a considerable part of Chopin s life from the time she was very young (Toth 45). When Mrs. Mallard finds out that her husband is in fact still alive her dreams although short lived come crashing down and she herself dies. When Oscar died Chopin also had dreams for herself and she lead her life to the fullest living out her dreams (Toth 176).
Chopin s story represents some of the turmoil that she also faced growing up in this not so perfect world. Chopin uses irony in the story to show the unequal role women had in relationships at the time the story was written. The ironic tone in the story is employed by Chopin to present a socially unaccepted concept in order for readers to be more accepting. A contrast between what you think would actually happen during those times and what actually happens is being presented.
As Mrs. Mallard is looking out her window the weather is not as one might expect it is not dark and gloomy but she sees, Patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds (Chopin 397). She is expected to mourn her husband death but in contrast she is thinking about a bright new life without her husband. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills (Chopin 397). At first you may think that she died because of the extreme joy that her husband was actually still alive. But her love for her husband does not compare to the joy she feels upon the discovery of her newfound freedom.
Due to the fact that Chopin wrote about women without bias, many editors were less understanding and were not eager to always accept her writings. Even though Chopin s ideas were controversial, slowly over the decades people began to accept them. (Howard 6). The editor of a popular magazine, Atlantic Monthly made a comment when responding to a story that Chopin had sent to him, certain facts of life which are not usually talked of before young people and young ladies (Petry 7). Rejection was not new to Chopin, due to the fact that her stories told of life and how it really was, not what people wanted to hear. Chopin would not change any of her works just to suit an editor (Petry 7). Love, passion, and independence are themes in most of her writings (Howard 6).
At the time of her writings Victorian women had no right to vote and very little independence. Women were expected to accept their position at home and be satisfied with that. Many of her works challenge those exact ideas and in turn many critics were outraged (Toth 112). A female writer who wrote of a women wanting independence would not be received very highly in the nineteenth century, especially in The Story of an Hour when a women is rejoicing in the death of her own husband. Her stories were barely remembered until the 1950 s when critics finally recognized her great talent (Howard 6). At the beginning of The Story of an Hour Chopin presents the main character simply as Mrs.
Mallard, the lack of a woman s personal identity is evident in this name. Not mentioning her name until the end of the story illustrates the lack of individuality possessed by the women during this time. The name also reveals another element in the formula representing the Victorian housewife. Mallard ducks are docile, un threatening creatures that when in flight, fly in perfect form never wandering from their perfect V. This loyalty to conformity was the ideal that society demanded.
The similarity between mallards and women in this age is striking (Petry 200). Chopin gives no identity to the main character to show that women were known by their husband s names and not names of their own. When you get married you get do away with your own name and you are to now take the name of your husband, this makes for a lack of personal identity, you are only known by his name, no one knows the name that you were born with. Women during this era had little opportunity to enhance their own identity as well as establish any independence.
During the Victoria Era women were expected to feel helpless without their husband s, most women did not work and the thought of life without a husband was almost too much for a woman to handle, Chopin however presents the idea of a husband s death differently than most writers of that time. Mrs. Mallard is different than most women and her reaction to the news of her husband s death portrays her individuality. She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance (Chopin 397).
In Emily Toth s biography of Chopin she states, Most women of Kate Chopin s class would have turned their financial affairs over to the most capable or male relative. But Chopin, chose instead to run Oscar s business herself (350). Chopin was doing many things that were unheard of; she was taking care of all her children herself and was supporting them and herself on her work (Petry 55). During this era most would expect a writer to write about the love, respect and infidelity that comes with the institution of marriage. Chopin was able to step across these boundaries and go against most reader s expectations.
In The Story of an Hour Mrs. Mallard is never stricken with fear about what to do without her husband, she makes the transition from wife to widow quickly without question. Chopin liked to present women differently in her writings, women with a sense of their own selfhood. The theme of the story is that women who lived hundred years ago did not feel free, the title The Story of an Hour all makes perfect sense. It describes the one hour Mrs. Mallard spends dreaming about her new life in freedom: When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips.
She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free! (Chopin 397) In that time period it was almost unheard of for a divorce to occur. In the story Mrs. Mallard desperately wants to get more freedom, but it is not until she hears of her husband s death that she starts dreaming about it. Even though she may react differently then most at the time would expect, she still has respect for her husband. She has respect for her husband due to the fact that she had been loyal to him and it wasn t until she heard of his death that she dares even dreaming about it. Chopin was not happy with the principles of the time, because women had fewer rights and they were not considered equal to men (Petry 123).
Chopin was not afraid of segregation and used her writing as a weapon against the oppression of women (Thomas 19) Chopin wants the reader to relate to Mrs. Mallard, knowing that women at that time had few rights and that it takes the death of husband for a woman to even feel that she can have any freedom. Chopin was a writer who was not afraid to write about the world as it really was, despite the criticism she received while doing it. Her writings do more than just tell a story. Her childhood helped mold her into the self-assertive female that she became as an adult writer (Toth 98).
The reactions to her stories gives an impression of how the way of life must have been in the nineteenth century. The Story of an Hour tells a lot about the situation women were in a century ago. This short story was written at a time where it was common sense and tradition that women were inferior to men in status and opportunities (Petry 135). The reactions to her stories have changed over the past 100 years. Looking back on the critics changing views from outrage to admiration, it is easy to see how far we as a nation have come in accepting women as writers.
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