A Woman's Self: The I as A Subject Versus The Object - Assignment Example

? A Woman's “Self The “I” as A Versus The “Object” John M. Deube Shayla Gordon ENG 125 Introduction to Literature August 15, 2011 A Woman's “Self”: The “I” as A Subject Versus The “Object” The notion of a “free woman” is an oxymoron during the nineteenth century, as depicted in Kate Chopin's (1894) “The Story of an Hour.” A woman cannot be genuinely “free,” because the society keeps her chained to her gender roles. But Mrs. Mallard has found a way to break her socially-conditioned “self,” in a process of rapid “awakening” to the development of her “I.” I can relate to this story, because I believe that people often see what they want to see in others and so Mrs. Mallard is a product of other people's perceptions. In reality, she only begins to “know” her “self” in one hour, after she learns that her husband has died. She learns her “I” in relation to the “self” that the society has molded. Louise has changed from being an “object” to finding her “self,” because she has realized the value of the “I,” where she becomes aware of her imprisonment as a married woman, discovers intrinsic living, and decides to keep her newfound “self” by killing her old “self.” To discover one's imprisonment paves the path to liberation, from the realization of freedom's necessity, followed by reflection and action on it. The protagonist of “The Story of an Hour” realizes that she has been Mrs. Mallard all her life. Chopin shows this in the characterization of Mrs. Mallard, where her first name is not mentioned in the first paragraph of the story. Instead, the name “Mrs. Mallard” stresses her “self,” as the “wife” of a “man,” which symbolizes her being an “object,” because of her imprisonment to her gender roles, as a woman and as a wife. Mrs. Mallard's first name is revealed as “Louise,” after she realizes that she is finally “free” (Chopin). When she learns that her husband has died in an accident, she weeps uncontrollably. Later on, there is situational irony in how she swiftly recovers in a few minutes, as she opens her mind, body, and soul to the “idea” and then “experience” of being free. The “idea” of being an “I” represents itself in the imagery of nature. The image of the trees “aquiver with the new spring life” sends the message of liberation (Chopin). The sparrows “twittering” shows the mounting feeling of happiness. The irony of the setting of spring further designates that “death” is passing for this story, because the actual and enduring theme is “life.” Brent's death has dashed the winter of his wife's existence: “...so she, like the trees, feels aquiver with life” (Rosenblum, 2004, p.2). Mrs. Mallard excitedly embraces the notion of freedom: “...she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (Chopin). She outgrows her “fear and anticipation” of the unknown experience of her “I” (Deneau, 2003, p. 211), and she cannot wait to act on her independence's implications, such as planning for her days ahead, without anyone dictating to her what she “should” do. Indeed, Louise has found “freedom” outside her marriage's entrapment, away from the home, which is the entire setting of the story. Intrinsic living is about finding meaning in the “I,” which demands independence and making brave choices. “I” concerns independence in making choices for one's “self.” Before, Mrs. Mallard is an “object” of society, particularly her husband. It does not even matter if he loved her, but it matters more that she can finally make choices for her “self.” Chopin stresses this, when Louise appreciates that Brent looks at her with “love,” “[b]ut she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” Shen (2009) talks about the contextual irony of Louise's “bereavement,” because she does not feel grief for a long time (p.117). Instead, her husband's loss has been transformed to her ultimate gain of her “I.” In addition, “I” entails making brave choices. It means shooing away her intrusive sister and finally deciding to personally handle “her sister's importunities” (Chopin). This action stands for the experience of freedom. Louise is finally affirming her “I,” by showing society who is “boss.” It does not matter if the society will find it abominable for her to remain unusually calm during her bereavement, because from now on, she knows she will be Louise all her life. Her “I” will come first in the next decisions she will make. Louise kills the “old” “self” completely as the final independent decision and to demonstrate that freedom is worth dying for. Chopin shows that the new “I” is determined to control her new life, as well as death. Louise claims her “I,” when she says: “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own” (Chopin). The assertion of “spring” and “summer” underlines the beauty of independence. With independence, she has found meaning in making free and brave decisions in life. She prepares herself for the succeeding good times, where she can continuously drink the “elixir of life” (Chopin), which pertains to her independence in further developing her “I.” Finally, the story is saying that to die a free woman is a cherished value. There is meaning in living a free life, because Louise has already former a “clear and precise picture” of her existence (Frankl, 1959, p.79). It is interpreted that when the doctors say that Louise died of “the joy that kills,” she dies knowing that she has reached a crucial goal- the realization of her “I.” Like other “freedom” stories, however, Louise fights for her last seconds of freedom and if it means death, then she says, so be it. A “free woman” has stopped becoming an oxymoron for Louise, when she liberates her “I,” by shedding her old “self.” She finds meaning in making choices for herself and no longer thinking about what society and her husband will say, and becomes aware of the joyous possibilities of being an “I.” Louise's final act of independence is when she defends her “I” to the very end, until she chooses death as the point of no return to the former life that she will no longer accept. After enjoying what it means to be “free,” dying free is better than living dead. References Chopin, K. (1894). The story of an hour. 1894. Retrieved from http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/ Deneau, D. P. (2003). Chopin's 'The story of an hour.' Explicator, 61 (4): 210-213. Retrieved from Literary Reference Center. Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man’s search for meaning. Massachusetts: Washington Square Press. Retrieved from Google Books. Rosenblum, J. (2004). The story of an hour. Masterplots II: Short Story Series, 1-2. Retrieved from Literary Reference Center. Shen, D. (2009). “Non-ironic turning ironic contextually: Multiple context-determined irony in “The story of an hour”.” Journal of Literary Semantics, 38 (2), 115-130. Retrieved from Literary Reference Center. Read More