Critical Response (The Story of an Hour)

“The Story of an Hour” Critical Response In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the actions and thoughts of Mrs. Mallard are prompted by the setting. The author effectively uses these literary devices in a way that leads the reader to believe something that actually is not true. The first way the author does this is when she puts us in a sad and lonely setting right from the start. The author creates a mood that is typical of a death in the family by emphasizing how lonely Mrs. Mallard is. She is “pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” At this point we believe that Mrs. Mallard is depressed but when she becomes aware of the “new spring life” out the window her attitude is changed. The author has successfully used the setting of a small room and spring life to shift the mindset of Mrs. Mallard and the reader. The scene of spring life represents the possibility of starting fresh and Mrs. Mallard now realizes she is no longer tied down to one man. I believe that if the setting was more open and dark, Mrs. Mallard would have continued to express the emotions that she did at the beginning of the story. This may have also resulted in her death but instead of disappointment it would have been “of joy that kills.” The final way that the author uses setting and the thoughts of Mrs. Mallard to lead the reader to believe something that isn’t true is when we find out that her husband is still alive. The setting of being alone in a small private room lets Mrs. Mallard think of all the things she can do now that she is free. She realizes that “spring days and summer days, and all sorts of days would be her own” without thinking of the possibility that her husband is still alive. The reader is convinced that her husband is dead because of the actions and thoughts of Mrs. Mallard. Throughout the story, her thoughts overwhelm her as well as the reader because it is not typical to act like that after a death. Her