THE STORY OF AN HOUR

Introduction

Kate Chopin, Story of an Hour portrays a pessimistic outlook of marriage through a clear presentation to the reader of a female who vividly overjoyed her husband death (Chopin 198). Through language Kate Chopin has been able to express the emotions Louise Mallard emotions that she oscillates between her new found freedom and numbness. The story observes a simple style but vibrant and powerful when emotions are described. Through this, it is easy to suggest that Louise had a deeper life that was confined within and had little that was attached to the outer world of her companions and husband. Kate Chopin has illustrated the “story of an hour” through literature devices such as emotions, repetition, irony, feminism and theme in order to give a clear understanding of the story through the different interpretations.

The theme of unhealthy marriage has been well portrayed. The marriage life of Mrs. Mallard is characterized by forbidden joy. Due to this kind of marriage Mrs. Mallard is deprived of her independence indicating little rights women had in the 19th century. According to Jamil Selina in “Emotions in The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard represented a woman who unconsciously surrenders her heart as it was a requirement of culture. As the society expects Mrs. Mallard to be, she was submissive which gives her husband the right to impose on her private will (Jamil 216). In The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin has outlined the fact that surrounded Mr. Mallard death which translates freedom for Mrs. Mallard showing the irony of marriage which can be understood as it highlights the role of women during the century.

Mrs. Mallard is scared of freedom due to the nature of her unhealthy marriage which restricted her in many ways. She could hardly express herself due to emotion, physical and mental barriers thus making her life look like that of a caged bird that emerges the right time to go about and explore the world. It is clearly evident that she clearly expresses relief after her husband died when she whispers freedom several times which means that her suffering has come to an end (Chopin 200). This is an indication of her unhealthy marriage. Through this, she feels an overpowering joy that she experience and understands when she began to leave the room. Mrs. Mallard recognizes that through the death of her husband and breaking the subsequent marriage tie will be an independent woman who has no one to hold her accountable for her actions (Chopin 200).

According to Jamil Selina in “Emotions in ‘The Story of an Hour’” Kate Chopin has used emotions in her story in order to portray the suffering of Mrs. Mallard in her unhealthy marriage as a way of connecting the audience to the life of Mrs. Mallard (Jamil 215). Selina demonstrates Mrs. Mallard powerful impact of emotions when she receives the reports of her husband demise. Jamil Selina acknowledges Kate Chopin that Mrs. Mallard thought of it as it was only yesterday when her life might be long (Jamil 216). Kate Chopin in Jamil Selina portrays Mrs. Mallard to be different from other women who would not easily accept the death of their husband and on the contrary, she was aroused from the flood of her emotions to reach out to her soul (Jamil 216).

Jamil Selina has been able to identify Kate Chopin investigation on emotions that fits the argument of R. J. Dolan’s argument of the influence emotions have which do not necessarily relate to simple attention.  There was an engaging sense of perception that was emotions stimuli. Mrs. Mallard was able to see a new life through an opening that should breath of rain in the air to demonstrate that there were joy and inspiration in her. According to Jamil Selina, the presence of emotions in Mrs. Mallard life is an indication of openness, sympathy, and mindfulness. Selina has outline Chopin’s capability to point out Mrs. Mallard consciousness to the sudden occurrence of her life.

Jamila Selina credits Chopin ability to demonstrate Louise physical changes through the emotions that connect to her soul and body. She feels connected to the physical world her body is able to respond to emotions. Chopin has utilized nature to symbolize the power of emotions which shows a new life in Louise life signifying power and vigor (Jamil 218). In the eyes of the society the emotions that Louise portrayed were connected to illness (Jamil 219). Through the emotions that were created by the suffering Louise was able to realize that it was a path that will facilitate her self-discovery for her husband would have never allowed it. The profound freedom led to severe physical changes that eventually results to Louise death. Chopin has been able the power of emotions that allows her to recognize the immeasurable beauty of life where she recognizes the pain of Louise husband’s death is regarded as joy for Louise that eventually kill her.

Joyce Karpay has identified a critical feminist view in “the story of an hour”. This focuses on the female oppression that was experienced in the 19th century and more specifically in marriage during that time (Karpay 184). During this time women were seen as objects and were possessed by their spouses as they have diminutive or no power of their own being. In the story, Chopin discloses the tragic situation of Louise during the close discovery of Louise and through expressive aspects of the story. The first sentence of the story by Chopin is an indication of oppression as she is named Mrs. Mallard. She is given the husband name and it is later in the story we learn about her name. The overcoming the grief of her husband death indicates a female as an emotional person in comparison to men (Karpay 185).  Chopin indicated the Mrs. Mallard heart complications make the reader notice a weaker being at the start of the story generally showing a naturally weaker character.

Joyce Karpay identifies another weak moment shown by Chopin when Mrs. Mallard went to the room unaccompanied to continue with her grief. “She sank to the seat and she pressed down by the physical exhaustion in order to reach to her soul” shows a strong emotion but also indicates that Mrs. Mallard could not handle it physically either further showing her as a weaker person (Chopin 199). The feminist theory takes place when Mrs. Mallard sits down and appears like a strong woman who looks through the large window which is an indication of open opportunities that are available to her. According to Chopin the “rights imposed on fellow women by their men is powerful as it makes them blind not to see the oppression” signifies feminist theory showing that women were oppressed (Karpay 184).

“The New Woman of The New South” by Josephine Henry puts into consideration the women rights that the south women wanted. Henry supported the husband-wife Bill for married women to have equal rights of possessing and controlling property (Henry 93). These rights were meant to overcome the challenges of oppression that Louise went through. The modern southern woman did not desire the ballot but wanted an open form of expression their opinions in an arena. Henry also took into consideration of the woman club life when men were protected by law especially in the urban life dens filed with crime and drunkenness. This indicates that women were ridiculed a fact that the modern southern woman wanted to abolish (Henry 95).

Lawrence Berkove is a critic of Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour” as he argues that the story is more ironic rather than plainspoken. Berkove recognizes that the story has a widespread pattern of making assumptions in which an expected and an ordinary reasoning is applied to the unexplained facts about Mrs. Mallard (Berkove 152). Berkove argues that there is no hard evidence that shows suppression of Mrs. Mallard as well as a constant sacrifice. He argues that “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is about Louise and not marriage and society because non-textual assumptions have been used. Berkove takes into consideration “bespoke repression and a certain strength” to be unclear as the cause for repression might have been external which is the society and internal which is her marriage (Chopin 199). Berkove blames Louise weak observations of Chopin view of women oppression to contradict and mislead the textual evidence (Berkove 153).

Conclusion

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin has many literary devices that can be observed. The devices such as feminism, emotions, repetition, theme and irony can be noticed throughout the story have contributed to an overall impact of the story. This has enhanced a deep understanding to the readers of Kate Chopin story of the position women held in the 19th century. The writing styles have been greatly incorporated making the story achieve a remarkable recognition by other writers who explore the story of an hour further giving it more recognition.

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Berkove, Lawrence I. “Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’.” American Literary Realism, 32.2 (Winter 2000): 152-158. Print.

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Reading and Writing about Literature. Ed. Phillip Sipiora. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2002: 199-200. Print.

Henry, Josephine K. "The New Woman of the New South." Patterson, Martha H., ed. American New Woman Revisited: A Reader, 1894-1930. New Brunswick, NJ, USA: Rutgers University Press, 2008. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 12 January 2015.

"Jamil, Selina S. “Emotions in The Story of an Hour.” The Explicator, 67.3 (Spring 2009): 215-220. Print.

Karpay, Joyce. “Feminist Criticism.” Reading and Writing about Literature, 2nd ed. Ed. Phillip Sipiora. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2002: 183-187.  Print.