Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis
Alexander Tesfazgi
Professor Calderone
English 1301-81062
November 12, 2015
The Story of an Hour: The Misfortunate Wife The author of “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin, wrote this story at a time when women were considered as second-class citizens with no right to vote. The story depicts Mrs. Mallard as a woman who was trapped in a social institution called marriage. Even though her husband loved her, she was not happy in her marriage. She was oppressed in her marriage. Her voice was never heard, as her husband was the one who makes the decisions. “Mrs. Mallard’s emotions have been stifled and suppressed to fit into the mold of hollow social conventions” (Jamil 216). These repressions and muffled cries were experienced by almost all women …show more content…
Mallard’s strange reaction to the news of her husband’s death. When Mrs. Mallard learned that her husband has died of a train accident, she immediately felt sad and started weeping (Marcus 14). After the moment of grief has passed, Mrs. Mallard started to see the bright side of her husband’s death. She started to realize that she could begin a new life, which she could live just for herself. However, this moment of joy did not last long. It was cut short by the presence of Mr. Mallard at the front door. Within her last one hour, Mrs. Mallard experienced different emotions. First, she was sad over her husband’s death. After that, she realized how much awful her life was, and she was hopeful that her life would be much better without her husband. Finally, all her hopes died with her when she saw her husband standing at the front …show more content…
Mallard’s life was the author’s choice of an omniscient narrator to tell the story. Without the omniscient narrator, we would have judged Mrs. Mallard as an evil and cruel woman who enjoys her husband’s death. However, since we got the chance to see her reasons through her perspective, we sympathized with her rather than criticizing her decisions. Another critical importance of the omniscient narrator was it enabled the author to draw pictures of how the waves of ideas reached Mrs. Mallard. For example, Chopin wrote, “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air” (Marcus 15). This might not be as revealing as it is if it was in first person
Professor Calderone
English 1301-81062
November 12, 2015
The Story of an Hour: The Misfortunate Wife The author of “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin, wrote this story at a time when women were considered as second-class citizens with no right to vote. The story depicts Mrs. Mallard as a woman who was trapped in a social institution called marriage. Even though her husband loved her, she was not happy in her marriage. She was oppressed in her marriage. Her voice was never heard, as her husband was the one who makes the decisions. “Mrs. Mallard’s emotions have been stifled and suppressed to fit into the mold of hollow social conventions” (Jamil 216). These repressions and muffled cries were experienced by almost all women …show more content…
Mallard’s strange reaction to the news of her husband’s death. When Mrs. Mallard learned that her husband has died of a train accident, she immediately felt sad and started weeping (Marcus 14). After the moment of grief has passed, Mrs. Mallard started to see the bright side of her husband’s death. She started to realize that she could begin a new life, which she could live just for herself. However, this moment of joy did not last long. It was cut short by the presence of Mr. Mallard at the front door. Within her last one hour, Mrs. Mallard experienced different emotions. First, she was sad over her husband’s death. After that, she realized how much awful her life was, and she was hopeful that her life would be much better without her husband. Finally, all her hopes died with her when she saw her husband standing at the front …show more content…
Mallard’s life was the author’s choice of an omniscient narrator to tell the story. Without the omniscient narrator, we would have judged Mrs. Mallard as an evil and cruel woman who enjoys her husband’s death. However, since we got the chance to see her reasons through her perspective, we sympathized with her rather than criticizing her decisions. Another critical importance of the omniscient narrator was it enabled the author to draw pictures of how the waves of ideas reached Mrs. Mallard. For example, Chopin wrote, “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air” (Marcus 15). This might not be as revealing as it is if it was in first person