The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin - Essay Example

May 5, The Story of an Hour “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story that delves into the mindset of Louise Mallard upon learning that her husband has died. After receiving the news, she locks herself in her room to mourn her loss. However, after only a few minutes of sitting in silence, Mrs. Mallard comes to terms with the alleged permanent absence of her husband. As she realizes that the rest of her years will be spent without him, she ceases to mope, and instead embraces the prospect of a freedom that she had forfeited when she got married. When she discovers that her husband is still alive, she succumbs to death, which the doctor believes is out of happiness. However, through the plot, theme, symbolism, and character development, it is believed that Louise Mallard’s death was not a result of happiness at having her husband back, but of having her newfound freedom taken abruptly away from her. The plot of “The Story of an Hour” is rather unexpected. When Mrs. Mallard learns from her sister that her husband has died in a railroad disaster, it is assumed that she will mourn and attempt to tread life without her soulmate by her side. In a plot twist, after taking only a few moments to gather her thoughts in regard to her husband’s absence, Mrs. Mallard is hit with an awareness that she may now be alone, but she did not have to be lonely. It is during her brief mourning that she senses this feeling starting to emerge within her, one that she strove to prevent from completely possessing her. “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’” (Chopin par. 10). Mrs. Mallard began imaging her life without her husband, and it is a beautiful thing to behold. She is not so much a widow as she is free. Unfortunately, the plot takes another surprising twist at the end of the short story. After spending time comprehending what her husband’s death means to her own liberation, Mrs. Mallard has already grown used to her newfound freedom. She no longer has to live for someone else, but can do as she wishes without needed the permission or meeting the expectations of others, whether her husband or society. When her sister Josephine checks on Mrs. Mallard, she convinces her presumedly ailing sister to join her downstairs. As they make their way down the stairs, the front door opens and in walks Mr. Mallard, alive and well, having been nowhere near the vicinity of the railroad accident. Upon seeing him, Mrs. Mallard dies. The responding doctor believes that her death, which is influenced by a bad heart, is a result of shock and happiness at seeing her once-dead husband alive. However, it is assumed that her death is due to the freedom she had only just grasped being ripped from her hands. Similarly, the themes of this story suggest the same cause of death. The primary theme is the oppressiveness of marriage, especially during the 1800s during which this story takes place. Mrs. Mallard lived in a time when women were nothing more than the property of their husbands (Galens 1), and women were expected by society to want to be married regardless of what it meant to their freedom. Mrs. Mallard makes it very clear that her husband Brently had been a loving and kind person, and she had been in love with him. However, she was still oppressed by marriage. In losing her husband, Mrs. Mallard was gaining a freedom she had long since left behind. “She would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose upon a fellow creature” (Chopin par. 12). Even in a peaceful marriage, Mrs. Mallard was still property. With Brentley’s death, she became her sole owner once again. From an outsider’s perspective, a reader or observer of Mrs. Mallard’s story might find her exuberance at her husband’s death to be callous. For all that she claimed to have loved her husband, she was undoubtedly enthralled by the prospects that came with being a widow. All the same, she did mourn his death and “knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead” (Chopin par. 11). But in that day and age, women did not have their own identity outside of their husbands, or their fathers or brothers if they were unmarried. Mrs. Mallard had found her life to become stagnant upon marriage, and no longer her own, and she longed for a freedom outside of the one her husband provided her. A secondary theme is that of the forbidden nature of feeling ecstasy at the thought of independence. Before Mrs. Mallard completely felt the liberation of widowhood, she tried to quell the feelings in their tracks. This suggests that such emotions were not prohibited, which was most likely due to the society of her time. As a woman, Mrs. Mallard was supposed to enjoy marriage and want nothing more than to be a wife and mother. By rejecting the want for these positions, which other women had a craving for, she was also rejecting the norms of her society. In the end, though, Mrs. Mallard allowed these feelings to consume her entirely to the point that the pain of having her newfound freedom taken from her caused her to have the more permanent freedom associated with death. After fearing the feelings of freedom that her husband’s death prompted, she had an even greater fear of going back to that oppression. Symbolism in “The Story of an Hour” also provides insight into the reason of the sudden death of Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble, which is introduced in the opening line of the story, is the most pronounced symbol. Her heart trouble is both literal and figurative. In the literal sense, her heart trouble is what prompts her sister to be careful in how she tells Mrs. Mallard of her husband’s death, as well as in how she checks up on her later in the story, convincing her to open up the door or else she will make herself sick from what she believes is mourning. Her heart trouble is also what plagues her in the end when she dies after seeing that her husband is very much alive. Her heart had been unable to handle the shock of her withdrawn independence, though the doctor marks her death off as her being euphoric at seeing that her husband was all right. Ironically, the doctor thought she died from joy when she had really died from a loss of joy (Smith 1). Regardless of the diagnosis, Mrs. Mallard died because her heart failed to manger the intensity of her emotions. Figuratively, Mrs. Mallard heart trouble symbolizes the pain that she felt in her oppressive marriage. The story does not detail how Brently oppressed her, though Mrs. Mallard does make it seem as though both man and woman are oppressed by marriage. Though no examples of oppression are given, just having to live for the sake of someone else would be enough to make Mrs. Mallard feel as though she had no freedom of her own. She lived with the heartache that she was trapped because of the bonds of marriage, noting that “it was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long” (Chopin par. 17), though she prayed that it would be long now that she was no longer bound to another. When Mrs. Mallard dies at the end of the story, both literal and figurative interpretations of her heart trouble materialize as she succumbs to the emotional pain of losing her freedom and the physical pain of heart being unable to handle so much shock. The open window that Mrs. Mallard sits at when she has her revelation is another symbol, one of new life and a radiant future. The things that she notices through the open window include clouds and treetops, birds singing and fluttering by, as well as the smell of an impending rainstorm. All of these are aspects of spring, which is a season during which new life, especially in nature, emerges. Mrs. Mallard’s recognition of these things suggests a new life for her, one given to her through freedom. Furthermore, her view from the window, which provides for Mrs. Mallard a glorious glimpse of the brilliant, budding world, is also a brilliant glimpse into her own forthcoming independent future. The development of Mrs. Mallard’s character is a roller coaster through the course of the story, a ride that supports her death being caused by a loss of freedom and joy. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard is a delicate woman, tending to herself with care due to her heart trouble. When she learns that her husband is dead, she grieves deeply, just as any wife would. Alone in her room, though, left to her thoughts and emotions, Mrs. Mallard crests a new facet to her character: independence. For so long she lived with, for, and under her husband. At the first chance of freedom, she embraces it as an old friend, revealing that she is stronger than society expects her to be. Finding out that her husband is still alive, Mrs. Mallard slips back into the mindset that her happiness is outside of her marriage. She has her ultimate lows when her emotional frame of mind is dependent on her husband, and then a paramount high when she realizes that she does not need anyone but herself. “The Story of an Hour” is a twisted love story with one woman finding the silver linings to the death of her husband. Mrs. Mallard grieves for her husband, but then feels hopeful at the thought of finally having a life that she can control. As she accepts her feelings of freedom and hope, she becomes used to them, already longing for the days that she can dedicate to herself. Unfortunately, when she learns that her husband is alive, she dies, not from joy, but from disappointment, surrendering to the permanent freedom of death. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Los Angeles: Perfection Learning, 2000. Print. Galens, David. "The Theme of Female Self-Assertion." Class Jump. N.p., 26 May 2002. Web. 2 May 2013. . Smith, Nicole. "Analysis of "Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin: Themes of Language, Marriage and Emotion." Article Myriad. N.p., 14 July 2010. Web. 3 May 2013. . Read More