Patriarchy In The Story Of An Hour

Today, many women work outside of their homes. They are not restricted to household chores and serving their husbands. Many opportunities are available to allow a women to live life to the fullest and on their own terms. However, life was not always this way for women. In the late 1800’s, most women were housewives. Washing dishes, cooking food and ensuring a comfortable life for their husbands were all the tasks of a housewife. Sounds scary, right? In the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Louise Mallard is a housewife that receives the opportunity to create her own identity, become strong and independent and embrace her newly discovered independence.
First of all, Louise builds her own identity after the demise of her husband.
It emphasizes the prevalence of patriarchy in the late 1800’s, and it conveys the message that many women, like Louise, were dependent on their husbands. However, as the story progresses, characters begin to address
Louise by her first name. “Louise, open the door” (16) was a dialogue that, Louise’s sister,
Josephine utilizes in order to grab Louise’s attention. It was also the first dialogue that introduces readers to the idea that Mrs. Mallard was Louise too. Furthermore, as Louise grows comfortable thinking about living life for herself, readers realize that the title “Mrs. Mallard” (1) was only a small sector of her identity and did not define her. Although the lives of women during the late
1800’s revolved around their husbands, they still had a unique identity of their own that was eager to come out.
Secondly, Louise develops into a strong and independent character. At the start, the choice of words used by the author make Louise seem like a weak and frail woman. For instance,
“she [was] … pressed down by a physical exhaustion” (3) is a hyperbole used to describe the emotional impact that Brently’s death had on Louise. Even though society made her feel like
She had the strength to repress her true desires of freedom for all these years.
Furthermore, societal pressure stops her from living life her way. Society made her feel obligated to live a life where her internal desires were neglected. In the late 1800’s, women were expected to live a life that was convenient to their husband. They were required to be homemakers while the men would go out and be the breadwinners.
Lastly, Louise embraces her newfound independence. Initially, she is not willing to accept her independence. She does not feel as though it was appropriate to rejoice about the death of her husband. The influence of society had conditioned her to neglect her desires.
However, as the story progresses, she is so overwhelmed by the feeling of independence that she thinks that it “[is] approaching to possess her” (9). It was becoming difficult for her to continue neglecting her desires. She began to accept her bright future and dream about how she would
“live for herself” (14). She starts to develop a much more positive view on life. Freedom that she once desired was finally here. But, destiny is cruel to her and her husband is actually alive.
Her independence and freedom is taken away from her once again. The thought of going back