Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

Short stories are one of the many different forms of fiction writing that can be used to create different worlds and realities that we may not be able to experience in real life. In this case, Kate Chopin’s, The Story of an Hour is a great example of a plot twist that carries a powerful punch. The sudden altered outcome can leave a reader shocked and intrigued. However this sort of impact isn’t possible had the story not had a strong point-of-view, characters, setting, symbolism or plot. All of these components work hand in hand to create the masterpiece that is The Story of an Hour. Kate Chopin’s use of vocabulary, metaphors and imagery vocabulary aid her in building a fictitious story that encompasses the power that the genre of fiction
Given the events that occur, Katie Chopin is able to build very strong character in Mrs.Mallard which in turn, allows the reader to take a stance on whether or not they empathize with her. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death” (Chopin 15). We are exposed to Mrs.Mallard’s condition at the beginning of the story and this is exactly what is said to take her life at the end. After receiving the terrible news about her husband, Mrs.Mallard is initially distraught and withdraws to her room to mourn. However, soon after retreating, Mrs.Mallard begins to realize her newborn freedom, yet rather than reaching a peaceful here, Brently Mallard shows up at the front door. “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills” (Chopin 16). The doctor claims that Mrs.Mallard died of joy because he was not aware of the realization she had just had. In a way the readers are given a behind the scenes experience that alters the meaning of the story as a whole. If The Story of an Hour had been written in any other point of view the reader would be left with a completely different impression; for example, if the story had been in first person from a non-primary character's
When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her” (Chopin 15). However as the story progresses we face a change in the plot as Mrs.Mallard realizes her newborn freedom. “She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (Chopin 15). These emotions and feelings add to the plot and the story itself, this reveals Mrs.Mallard’s non-traditional disposition towards her marital status. But the story doesn’t end there and before Mrs.Mallard can get too comfortable with her newfound freedom, her “dead” husband shows up at the front door. “Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one” (Chopin 16). And lastly the story is wrapped up with a plot twist, one that wasn’t expected and leaves Mrs.Mallard dead. The reader is aware of the real cause of Mrs.Mallard’s death, while the rest of the characters in the story believe she had died of