Story Of An Hour.docx

Father Saturnino Urios University Butuan City

The Joy That Kills: A Literary Analysis of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour”

Submitted by: Claire M. Aguala Submitted to: Wilybe Sumampong, Jr.

March 22, 2019

Table of Contents Introduction Thesis Statement Body of the Essay Conclusion Works and Cited Sources

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"The Story of an Hour" is a short story in which Kate Chopin, the author, presents an unprecedented view of marriage wherein Mrs. Louise Mallard, the main character, felt overjoyed upon hearing the news that her husband has died. But everything fades when she learns that her husband is still alive, she knows that all hope of freedom is gone. Published in the late 18th hundredths, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, considered an example of early feminist literature, illustrates a woman’s reaction to the end of an unhappy marriage and the beginning of a new life on her own. In the story, Chopin reveals it through a narrator's voice but the narrator is not simply an observer. The narrator knows the inner feeling and emotions of Mrs. Mallard. Chopin, however, never tells the reader what Mrs. Mallard is feeling. Instead, she presented simple prose, but with vibrant and powerful emotions. It helped readers to understand Mrs. Mallard’s actions and words about how she felt during those time. When he learned about her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard experienced a freedom. It is evidently shown in the passage when she repeats the words "Free, free, free!" (paragraph 11) and feels her body come alive. Her pulse beats faster; her blood runs warmer; her eyes brighten (paragraph 11). Mrs. Mallard knows that from now on she can live for herself and no one else, that "all sort of days…would be her own" (paragraph 19). The freedom she has been longing for a long time is now at her hands, fully grasp by her. The author also uses playful imagery to convey Mrs. Mallard emotion and feelings. The imagery of the “new spring of life” outside the window give the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard’s new life appearing before her through her view of an “open window” (para. 4). Louise Mallard experiences what most individuals long for throughout their lives; freedom and happiness from the things that causes to feel bad about herself. She feels free from his husband's authority. Mrs. Mallard always felt that due to her heart condition, she was deprived of doing things that she wanted to do. And she felt that she's just a subordinate of her husband. By spending an hour in a “comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4) in front of an open window, she undergoes a transformation that makes her understand the importance of her freedom. The author's use of Spring time imagery also creates a sense of renewal that captures the author's idea that Mrs. Mallard was set free after the news of her husband's death where she hears the “countless sparrows twittering in the leaves and notices the patches of blue sky" that symbolizes her freedom from her husband. Mrs. Mallard own feelings of love in return are also minimally described in the story. It is clear that she does not share his sentiments upon hearing the sad news of his husband's death. The narrator relates in one of the quotes from “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “And yet she loved him—sometimes. Often she did not." This passage explains a simple and direct language used to describe how she felt, that she is nor emotional about everything. She was not even crying , she just felt numb and at the back of her mind, she rejoices with so much joy. Now, she was taken aback when she learns that her husband still lives. Disappointment and devastation has gotten into her when Brently, her husband, walk through the front door. A lot of things was put into her mind as she was her husband alive. Her joyful moments are now over and everything turns into something she never wanted to happen. In many ways, the fact that she dies at the end of simple “heart disease" (which the doctors think that it is a result of her joy of seeing her husband) is symbolic of the “disease" of marriage. The said news of hearing her husband is still alive affects her heart and shows her misery upon realizing that her freedom is now gone. And this results to her death, a monstrous joy that kills her. In this story, Chopin addresses many of the concerns that are central to feminism, including the determination and expression of a woman’s unique identity distinct from the identity of her

husband and the right of a woman to identify and experience her own interests. While there is an aspect of this story that is controversial—namely, that Mrs. Mallard feels excited after learning that her husband has died—the reader can empathize with Mrs. Mallard’s feelings and support her. Chopin's story portrays a true to life situation that is happening in the real world.

WORK AND CITED SOURCES

Chopin, K. (2019, March 21). The Story of An Hour. Retrieved from https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-story-of-an-hour/summary/

The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin, characters, setting. (2019, March 21). Retrieved from https://www.katechopin.org/the-story-of-an-hour/