Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

2024 Words9 Pages
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story that gives off a lot of aspects that portray marriage and commitment as a negative. In the story, we are introduced to Louise Mallard, a woman who's husband has just passed away in a rail road accident and she feels nothing but joy and freedom after finding out the tragic news. Unfortunately, Louise does die at the end from being in too much shock on her already weak heart when her husband walks through their front door because it was a mistake that Mr. Mallard had died. She dies from a heart attack brought on from the shock of seeing her husband. The reoccurring theme in this short story is that marriage is constraining and negative. There are several aspects of the plot that show this…show more content…
Jamil focuses her critic, Emotions of Story of an Hour, on how Louise has “an awakening” when she learns that her husband has died in an accident. Louise sister, Josephine, breaks the horrible news to her in broken sentences and brief hints because she knows Louise has a heart condition. When Louise hears the news, she reacts in the completely opposite way of what everyone thought. She was joyful. Jamil notes that Louise didn't react like most women would. Normally, many women would not have the ability to accept the painful loss, but instead Louise had an uncontrollable flood of emotion. As Jamil states, “ This storm of emotion that haunts her body and it seems to reach into her soul.” I believe this is the moment that Louise had found her freedom. Louise then goes to her room and sits in a room with the window open. She quickly realizes that her own individuality is set free and it is accompanied by a monstrous joy. Although ironically, she locks herself in her own room symbolizing the opposite of freedom. The metaphor Jamil uses best is the use of nature in the Story of an Hour. She describes spring as a “new life”. Nature returns to life after winter. She compares that to Louise by stating that “Louise’s emotions return to life after a prolonged winter of patriarchal confinement.” In that one hour, Louise seems to have created a new identity for herself. She doesn't want to be repressed any longer and is ready…show more content…
She had grown up mostly with women friends and relatives but only a few male figures. This is displayed in her writings by having the male figures in her stories suppress the females. I believe she is used to the man providing for the family while the girls usually do what they are told. Much like in Story of an Hour, Louise wasn't complaining about her marriage until she found out that Brently had passed away. Then at that instant, she felt free. I feel like she couldn't display her feelings when Brently was around. The most important fact that played a huge part in Story of an Hour was that Kate’s father was killed in a railroad accident much like Mr. Mallard
Open Document