Mrs. Mallard In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

In “The Story of an Hour”, written by Kate Chopin, one of the forerunners of American feminist literature, patches of dark sky clear to reveal a spring day to Louise Mallard as she realizes she is free from the oppression of her husband and reclaims the right to live a life that is all her own; her husband’s death possibly symbolizes the ruse that is the end of female oppression in the late nineteenth-century. Mrs. Mallard’s lament lasted only a short while after hearing the news of her husband’s supposed demise at the hands of a locomotive, only to be enveloped by an overwhelming joy once she realizes she no longer will fall prey to the implied despotism of her husband. Louise’s death at the end of the short story would be rendered purposeless if there were no subtext to be discussed. As
Mallard’s heart condition, setting up a reason for her death from the start without directly giving us the idea that she may perish. Although it is said that she “wept at once”, it is also mentioned that Mrs. Mallard “did not hear the story as many women have heard the same”. Louise then weeps in her sister’s arms briefly and goes off to her room without accompaniment. This could be the first showing of feminine fortitude that was not often written about during that time, showing Louise can depend on herself in this emotional time rather than letting her anguish consume her. Once she reaches the confines of her room, Louise sits in an armchair facing an open window, seeing “patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other”. These areas of blue revealing themselves to Louise may symbolize her realization that she has been unshackled from the control of her husband. Louise’s maltreatment from her husband is implied in the line describing her appearance, stating “She was young with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain