The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin - Essay Example

The paper "The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin " is an excellent example of an essay on literature. To my mind, it’s not “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin itself what should actually be read between the lines, but words the author says about the story. Chopin claims that Mrs. Mallard's death is a mystery of murder and that all the characters from the story are suspects. When reading, it seems neither Bentley Mallard, nor his friend Richard, or Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine has killed the main heroine directly. Yet being true members of patriarchic society, they altogether have killed Mrs. Mallard indirectly. 

Clear is a feministic theme of this story. Mrs. Mallard is a woman who lives upon a “powerful will” (Chopin). It’s a social order, where “men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature”, what makes Mrs. Mallard breath freely about her husband’s death (Chopin). Despite doctors came with a different diagnosis, Chopin made readers know that actually Mrs. Mallard had died from. While sitting alone in the armchair, in front of an open window, the main heroine dreamt of a life where her “body and soul free”, and where many long days she would live for her own (Chopin). Thus, when seeing her husband alive, Mrs. Mallard cannot survive a broken dream about freedom.
Another clue is that no character actually gets lucky from the death of the main heroine. Only a society does as it hasn’t got another feministic soul. The proof is that Chopin describes Josephine as a tender and loving sister who cares about her sister’s wellbeing while Richard is a loyal friend too. Bentley Mallard also isn’t a cruel husband who may wish his wife’s death. Mrs. Mallard thinks about his attitude, “the face that had never looked save with love upon her” (Chopin). Thus, all the damage was indirect, and it’s exactly what makes a perfect murder. Society has killed a feministic spirit while everyone’s left to guess: who has killed a poor woman?  Read More