The Story Of An Hour By: Kate Chopin
Summary: This story is about a wife, who had heart disease. She had a husband, whom she loved sometimes, but she was more in love with the thought of being free. So when her husband died and she was told this news, she acted as though she was so sad she did not want to see anyone. She went into her room alone. While she was in the room she stared at the window that was open and she thought about her life being free and having a long life ahead of her. She was excited to be a free soul no more being bound to the marrage in her life.("Free! Body and soul free!") The
Why Choose It?
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin is a great short story. What makes it such a great short story is the amount of detail because it made you feel like you were in the story. It should be included in all english books because it's not boring and really long, but it's short with alot of detail and it gets to the point and its easy to understand what is going on. This short story is a good one because even though it's sad, it's still a good piece of literature that needs to be in the textbook. When you read this story, it want to make you keep reading because conflict after conflict starts coming up and it's sad, but it pulls your attention to keep reading. The story resulted in being an amazing short story because it involved alot of drama between Ms.Mallard's freedom and how she loved her husband. We chose this story because it was very different from the others in the textbook so we thought it would be an excellent choice to put in the texbook. Be sure to pick "The Story of an Hour" as one of your short stories!
Critic Review-Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” allows one to
explore the ironic situation in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her
husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate
the marital problems that were inherent in marriages in the early 19th century.
In “The Story of an Hour,” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the
death of her husband, yet, Chopin challenges readers of all backgrounds, gender,
age, and cultural societies to analyze, question and criticize the behavior of
Mrs. Mallard during the-time-of-her-’loving’-husband’s-assumed-death.
Chopin portrays the stereotypical marriage Mrs. Mallard endured during the
19th century. It was the kind of marriage that established boundaries between
men and women and consisted of a lack in communication between the marital
partners. “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke of
repression and even a-certain strength” (15). She proves this by illuminating
the reader early in the story that Mrs. Mallard, “did not hear the story as many
women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its
significance” (15). She cries at once, but shortly after, she starts to feel
free and welcomes herself to “the new spring life” (15). The most important clue
that explains Mrs. Mallard’s unpleasant marital life can be established when
Chopin tells the reader that Mrs. Mallard, “saw beyond that bitter moment a long
procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely and she opened
and spread
her-arms-out-to-them-in-welcome”(16).
explore the ironic situation in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her
husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate
the marital problems that were inherent in marriages in the early 19th century.
In “The Story of an Hour,” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the
death of her husband, yet, Chopin challenges readers of all backgrounds, gender,
age, and cultural societies to analyze, question and criticize the behavior of
Mrs. Mallard during the-time-of-her-’loving’-husband’s-assumed-death.
Chopin portrays the stereotypical marriage Mrs. Mallard endured during the
19th century. It was the kind of marriage that established boundaries between
men and women and consisted of a lack in communication between the marital
partners. “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke of
repression and even a-certain strength” (15). She proves this by illuminating
the reader early in the story that Mrs. Mallard, “did not hear the story as many
women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its
significance” (15). She cries at once, but shortly after, she starts to feel
free and welcomes herself to “the new spring life” (15). The most important clue
that explains Mrs. Mallard’s unpleasant marital life can be established when
Chopin tells the reader that Mrs. Mallard, “saw beyond that bitter moment a long
procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely and she opened
and spread
her-arms-out-to-them-in-welcome”(16).
Critic Review- Chopin tackles complex issues involved in the interplay of female
independence, love, and marriage through her brief but effective
characterization of the supposedly widowed Louise Mallard in her last hour of
life. After discovering that her husband has died in a train accident, Mrs.
Mallard faces conflicting emotions of grief at her husband's death and
exultation at the prospects for freedom in the remainder of her life. The latter
emotion eventually takes precedence in her thoughts. As with many successful
short stories, however, the story does not end peacefully at this point but
instead creates a climactic twist. The reversal--the revelation that her husband
did not die after all-- shatters Louise's vision of her new life and ironically
creates a tragic ending out of what initially appeared to be a fortuitous turn
of events. As a result, it is Mr. Mallard who is free of Mrs. Mallard, although
we do not learn whether the same interplay of conflicting emotions occurs for
him. Chopin presents Mrs. Mallard as a sympathetic character with strength and
insight. As Louise understands the world, to lose her strongest familial tie is
not a great loss so much as an opportunity to move beyond the "blind
persistence" of the bondage of personal relationships. In particular, American
wives in the late nineteenth century were legally bound to their husbands' power
and status, but because widows did not bear the responsibility of finding or
following a husband, they gained more legal recognition and often had more
control over their lives. Although Chopin does not specifically cite the
contemporary second-class situation of women in the text, Mrs. Mallard's
exclamations of "Free! Body and soul free!" are highly suggestive of the
historical context. Beyond the question of female independence, Louise seems to suggest that
although Brently Mallard has always treated their relationship with the best of
intentions, any human connection with such an effect of permanence and
intensity, despite its advantages, must also be a limiting factor in some
respects. Even Louise's physical description seems to hint at her personality,
as Chopin associates her youthful countenance with her potential for the future
while mentioning lines that "bespoke repression and even a certain strength."
Although neither her sister nor Brently's friend Richards would be likely to
understand her point of view, Louise Mallard embraces solitude as the purest
prerequisite for free choice. Mrs. Mallard's characterization is complicated by the fleeting nature of her
grief over her husband, as it might indicate excessive egotism or shameless
self-absorption. Nevertheless, Chopin does much to divert us from interpreting
the story in this manner, and indeed Mrs. Mallard's conversion to temporary
euphoria may simply suggest that the human need for independence can exceed even
love and marriage. Notably, Louise Mallard reaches her conclusions with the
suggestive aid of the environment, the imagery of which symbolically associates
Louise's private awakening with the beginning of life in the spring season.
Ironically, in one sense, she does not choose her new understanding but instead
receives it from her surroundings, "creeping out of the sky." The word "mallard"
is a word for a kind of duck, and it may well be that wild birds in the story
symbolize freedom. To unify the story under a central theme, Chopin both begins and ends with a
statement about Louise Mallard's heart trouble, which turns out to have both a
physical and a mental component. In the first paragraph of "The Story of an
Hour," Chopin uses the term "heart trouble" primarily in a medical sense, but
over the course of the story, Mrs. Mallard's presumed frailty seems to be
largely a result of psychological repression rather than truly physiological
factors. The story concludes by attributing Mrs. Mallard's death to heart
disease, where heart disease is "the joy that kills." This last phrase is
purposefully ironic, as Louise must have felt both joy and extreme
disappointment at Brently's return, regaining her husband and all of the loss of
freedom her marriage entails. The line establishes that Louise's heart condition
is more of a metaphor for her emotional state than a medical reality.
independence, love, and marriage through her brief but effective
characterization of the supposedly widowed Louise Mallard in her last hour of
life. After discovering that her husband has died in a train accident, Mrs.
Mallard faces conflicting emotions of grief at her husband's death and
exultation at the prospects for freedom in the remainder of her life. The latter
emotion eventually takes precedence in her thoughts. As with many successful
short stories, however, the story does not end peacefully at this point but
instead creates a climactic twist. The reversal--the revelation that her husband
did not die after all-- shatters Louise's vision of her new life and ironically
creates a tragic ending out of what initially appeared to be a fortuitous turn
of events. As a result, it is Mr. Mallard who is free of Mrs. Mallard, although
we do not learn whether the same interplay of conflicting emotions occurs for
him. Chopin presents Mrs. Mallard as a sympathetic character with strength and
insight. As Louise understands the world, to lose her strongest familial tie is
not a great loss so much as an opportunity to move beyond the "blind
persistence" of the bondage of personal relationships. In particular, American
wives in the late nineteenth century were legally bound to their husbands' power
and status, but because widows did not bear the responsibility of finding or
following a husband, they gained more legal recognition and often had more
control over their lives. Although Chopin does not specifically cite the
contemporary second-class situation of women in the text, Mrs. Mallard's
exclamations of "Free! Body and soul free!" are highly suggestive of the
historical context. Beyond the question of female independence, Louise seems to suggest that
although Brently Mallard has always treated their relationship with the best of
intentions, any human connection with such an effect of permanence and
intensity, despite its advantages, must also be a limiting factor in some
respects. Even Louise's physical description seems to hint at her personality,
as Chopin associates her youthful countenance with her potential for the future
while mentioning lines that "bespoke repression and even a certain strength."
Although neither her sister nor Brently's friend Richards would be likely to
understand her point of view, Louise Mallard embraces solitude as the purest
prerequisite for free choice. Mrs. Mallard's characterization is complicated by the fleeting nature of her
grief over her husband, as it might indicate excessive egotism or shameless
self-absorption. Nevertheless, Chopin does much to divert us from interpreting
the story in this manner, and indeed Mrs. Mallard's conversion to temporary
euphoria may simply suggest that the human need for independence can exceed even
love and marriage. Notably, Louise Mallard reaches her conclusions with the
suggestive aid of the environment, the imagery of which symbolically associates
Louise's private awakening with the beginning of life in the spring season.
Ironically, in one sense, she does not choose her new understanding but instead
receives it from her surroundings, "creeping out of the sky." The word "mallard"
is a word for a kind of duck, and it may well be that wild birds in the story
symbolize freedom. To unify the story under a central theme, Chopin both begins and ends with a
statement about Louise Mallard's heart trouble, which turns out to have both a
physical and a mental component. In the first paragraph of "The Story of an
Hour," Chopin uses the term "heart trouble" primarily in a medical sense, but
over the course of the story, Mrs. Mallard's presumed frailty seems to be
largely a result of psychological repression rather than truly physiological
factors. The story concludes by attributing Mrs. Mallard's death to heart
disease, where heart disease is "the joy that kills." This last phrase is
purposefully ironic, as Louise must have felt both joy and extreme
disappointment at Brently's return, regaining her husband and all of the loss of
freedom her marriage entails. The line establishes that Louise's heart condition
is more of a metaphor for her emotional state than a medical reality.
Critic Review- Dennis Haritou: Kate Chopin‘s “The Story of an
Hour” consists of three pages totaling 23 paragraphs. One
paragraph, mainly exposition, is five sentences long. The rest range from four
sentences to several paragraphs that are only one sentence long. One paragraph,
a very telling one, consists of just five words.This structure is gossamer, like a silk worm spinning out a thread. What it’s
meant to catch is the extremity of a woman’s life. Mrs Mallard has just received
the kind of tragic, out-of-the-blue, news that we all dread: a loved one has
been in a horrific accident. She withdraws into a comfortable chair in her room. This story needs to spin
a delicate web: we are going to explore the movements of her mind at its most
pivotal moment. It’s very Jamesian. But I mean William not Henry. William James had this
utterly cool pre-Freudian idea of how the mind worked as process. It was like a
series of perchings and flights, as if an elusive bird kept trying to
secure its footing and keeps missing it, so it has to try again and again and
this striving never stops until everything is over. Robinson Jeffers said that it’s a bitter
earnestness that makes beauty. And he was talking about a flight of birds at the
time. Mrs Mallard, so named, has experienced traumatic loss. Loss can be a very
equivocal thing sometimes…far more than we are willing to admit to ourselves or
others. Doors close and doors open and the mind pivots and reels. Please read the story.
Hour” consists of three pages totaling 23 paragraphs. One
paragraph, mainly exposition, is five sentences long. The rest range from four
sentences to several paragraphs that are only one sentence long. One paragraph,
a very telling one, consists of just five words.This structure is gossamer, like a silk worm spinning out a thread. What it’s
meant to catch is the extremity of a woman’s life. Mrs Mallard has just received
the kind of tragic, out-of-the-blue, news that we all dread: a loved one has
been in a horrific accident. She withdraws into a comfortable chair in her room. This story needs to spin
a delicate web: we are going to explore the movements of her mind at its most
pivotal moment. It’s very Jamesian. But I mean William not Henry. William James had this
utterly cool pre-Freudian idea of how the mind worked as process. It was like a
series of perchings and flights, as if an elusive bird kept trying to
secure its footing and keeps missing it, so it has to try again and again and
this striving never stops until everything is over. Robinson Jeffers said that it’s a bitter
earnestness that makes beauty. And he was talking about a flight of birds at the
time. Mrs Mallard, so named, has experienced traumatic loss. Loss can be a very
equivocal thing sometimes…far more than we are willing to admit to ourselves or
others. Doors close and doors open and the mind pivots and reels. Please read the story.
Story Connections:
Music: Moonlight Sonata Symphony No. 14 by Ludwig Van Beethoven perfectly creates the mood for this story. The musical piece starts out as a dark mezzo-piano (moderatrly soft) sound, then cresendos(gradually gets louder) to a happy upbeat forte (loud) sound. In the beginning of this story the mood is very sad, depressing, and dark as the wife seems uphappy about her husband's death. Latter on in the story we realize that the wife is actually feeling joy and happiness because she is now free. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr0otuiQuU