Mrs. Mallard is an upper-class women opposed to Mrs. Sommers being poor. Chopin describes the appearance of Mrs. Mallard’s face in the story: “She was young, with a fair, calm face”(paragraph 8). Mrs. Mallard is an attractive, admirable, and a simple woman as learned from the Chopin’s description. “There stood facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy chair”(paragraph 4) connotes that she has wealthy-living. Generally, Mrs. Mallard is a refined, elegant woman during the nineteenth-century that belongs to the upper-class society. In contrast, Mrs. Sommers is fighting poverty and is struggling with the fact that she does not have much to support her family. For instance when Mrs. Sommers suddenly finds $15 on the ground, it seemed to her quite…
Chopin uses imagery and descriptive detail to contrast the rich possibilities for which Mrs. Mallard yearns with the drab reality of her everyday life. Chopin uses specific words to give the reader a background on Mrs. Mallard’s position. Chopin uses “Fearfully” to describe what Mrs. Mallard’s reaction is when she finds out her husband is dead and realized that she is on her own. The word “Fearfully” shows that Mrs. Mallard did in fact love her husband. It does this by giving the reader the implication that she was worried about how she would live without him to be there for her. She was afraid to go on without having him there for her. Later on in the story the use of the word “Unwittingly” describes Mrs. Mallard’s mood. This shows that Mrs. Mallard had made peace with her husband’s death, and she is doing what she has to do. Mrs. Mallard is not going to worry about her husband’s death because she has…
In Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallord experiences multiple emotions. After hearing of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallord goes through different stages of grieving. She experiences grief, relief, and remorse. The first emotion she experiences is grief. “ She wept with sudden abandonment in her sister’s arms” is an example of her sorrow ( Chopin 223). The next emotion she feels is relief. After being married to Mr. Mallord for so long she is relieved to be a free women. She whispers “free, free, free” repeatedly to herself in her bedroom ( 224). She also states “ Free! Body and soul, free” showing her relief of finally being an independent woman(224). After feeling joy of being a free woman, she starts to feel remorse. Mrs. Mallord…
Kate Chopins short story , “The Story of An Hour”, describes Mrs. Mallard as being ienslaved in an idealistic marriage during the nineteenth century. Mrs. Mallard, unlike the stereotypical women of the time, tastes the momentary sweetness of freedom when she hears the false news of her husband’s death.…
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin gives us a very interesting look at how an hour can be such a long time. This story is filled with irony. Every time that you think that you have the plot figured out, Chopin tosses in another twist that throws our minds for a loop. As I read this story the first time I thought how strange, but as I read it again and again I started pick up bits and pieces of what the author was trying to convey.…
“The Story of an Hour” is a two page short story written by Kate Chopin (born February 8, 1851 died August 22, 1904) (Larsson Donald, and Erskine Thomas 1), but despite its small size, it is filled with conflicting emotions and symbolism. The amount of well-hidden symbolism can make it very confusing, but it also gives the story an unlimited amount of meaning. At first glance, many may not realize that the sky is a symbol, or understand a kind “of joy that kills” (Chopin 128), and cannot comprehend the mental state someone must be in to fell “free” (129) from hearing of death of her spouse.…
What is marriage a union of two people who are held together legally, socially, and ritually? Everyone recognizes that they are legally bonded together until death due them part. Marriage is normally required to be assigned to a man and a woman who are free from a joint agreement to anyone else. The two people mutually agree to share their lives, bodies, and experiences. They share family values, traditions, and have children also. Then there is freedom both partners in a marriage are not involved or devoted to anyone else. Freedom is defined as the ability or power to talk, react, perform, or think without penalty. Each person has to be free to enter into the agreement of marriage. Marriage and freedom are a connected union which requires discipline and compromise. Freedom is the fact of how we choose to think and the reaction or actions of those thoughts and how they are played out in daily living. Which brings me to using marriage and freedom as topics for “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin.…
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” - Frederick Douglass.…
Marriage was also another role women took part in, as they were expected to. Most of the time was so they could have children, and marriage isn’t like that today. People get married today to spend the rest of their lives with their significant other and put a label on it. In the story, the quote “And yet she had loved him sometimes, Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!”(Chopin 15). During this era, marriage wasn’t always about love. Sometimes it was just to better a man’s life. The main character Mrs. Mallard feels she gave up freedom for someone she isn’t sure she truly loves. The idea of being free, and being able to make her own choices made her realize she didn’t care for her marriage. Marriage usually was good for the men. Another example Chopin uses to describe marriage is, “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!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch in her body” (Chopin 11). Mrs. Mallard is a free women! Her life was full of anxiety. When she found out her husband was dead she was free from marriage, and free from her everyday life. She was excited because she saw a new beginning ahead of…
In the short story, Story of an Hour, Chopin illustrates that societal expectations will subdue and repress one’s identity. Firstly, in the very first paragraph it is noted that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble; naturally, one would presume that she is of quite some age, however, in the eighth paragraph it reads, “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.” (Chopin, 8th paragraph) This comes as a surprise to the reader as it was originally inferred that she was much older but now that the reader becomes aware of her age, they are able to deduce how much psychological and emotional strain must have been pressed upon her to have lines that “bespoke repression” at such a young age. As well, Mrs. Mallard may have been inclined to enjoy those first few moments of newfound freedom in solitude, as she would not like anyone to see her in peace after her husband’s death. This sentence accurately illustrates how societal norms have repressed her identity, causing her to even hide from her sister to avoid questioning.…
Just like humanity, the American Dream has two sides to it. One side one where you make a boat load of money with very little work or none at all and the other side is where you work hard in life just to make your very special someone happy. That last part can be inferred as an opinion because quite frankly, in America most couples don’t want to make one another happy. They want to pull each other in the opposite direction. We might call the American Dream American, but is it really American? in the Great Gatsby…
The author, Kate Chopin uses marriage to show how powerless women were compared to men during the late eighteen hundreds in her short story entitled, “The Story of An Hour “. At the beginning of the story the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard has a heart condition. Due to her illness, her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards has the hard task to tell Louise that her husband Brently Mallard has died in a train wreck. During this first hour Mrs. Mallard experiences the sorrow of her husband's death and the loneliness she would feel, but also the conflicting and exciting feelings of being able to feel alive and the freedom she will have in the future being alone without her husband.…
The Awakening by Chopin was written in a time where marriage and love did not have the same meaning as it does today. The women in this time was forced into an arranged marriage at a young age, they had no time to experience life they self. In today society we have a choice on who we marry and for what reason why we choose to marry. Edna marriage was to escape from her family cage only to replace by Mr.Ponteller cage. She was forced in to a loveless marriage for the appearance of society. Marriage to the Edna was something that was suffocated the life out of her. It seemed that she had no voice in the world around her that affects her. She realize that she want more out life than to be just a mother and wife. So often in life we get caught up in life not realizing that we have not spent enough time enjoy life. She realized that staying into a loveless marriage, she would lose a little of herself every day. “She was a grown young woman when she was overtaken by what supposed to be the climax of her fate.” (Chopin, 2011, chapter7 P). She found that her marriage lacks the passion and love she long for. “It was when the face and figure of a great tragedian began to hunt her imagination and stir her sense. The persistence’s of realm of dreams and romance.” (Chopin, 2011, Chapter 7, P).…
Mrs. Loise Mallard husband, Brently Mallard, has died in a train accident, according to a report received at a newspaper office.…
Ms. Mallards, the main character in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, life is torn apart and put back together within and hour. She is stuck in a controlling relationship. This is because after hearing of her husband dying she feels free, she’s never loved him, and she finally feels happiness.…