Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

Throughout the late 19th century women questioned the oppressive and stifling patriarchal society of the time and demanded augmented rights and freedom. In “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin contemplates the existence and effects of societal biases towards women and the negative attributes of marriage as an institution. In particular, Chopin employs the downstairs of the home in the beginning of the story to characterize society's notion of women as weak and at the end of the story to assert the effects of negative societal preconceptions on women. However, when Louise goes upstairs, she accepts her independence and realizes the oppressive nature of marriage. Throughout “The Story of An Hour” Chopin claims that society as a whole characterizes
women as weak, marriage as an institution is oppressive and confines women's freedom, and the immense negative effects of negative societal notions and marriage on women.
Chopin claims that society conceives women as weak and incapable of handling death, as shown when Richard and Josephine tell Louise about her husband's death.
For instance, Chopin asserts that Richard “hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend” and told Mrs. Mallard in “veiled hints” and “great care was taken to break [it] to her as gently as possible (Chopin 243). By informing her in an exceedingly gentle manner, to an extent that it becomes patronizing, and entrusting a “tender” and “careful” friend to tell her the news, Richard and Josephine assume that Mrs. Mallard cannot cope with difficult situations because she is a woman. While some may argue that she has a heart trouble which explains why great care was taken to tell her, this does not hold value because the doctors, whom were wrong about her dying from the joy of seeing her husband, misdiagnosed her heart trouble as depression as a result an oppressive and unhappy marriage. Therefore, by belittling Mrs. Mallard when telling her about her husband's death, Chopin asserts that society as a whole assumes that women are weak and incapable of handling death or
hardship.
Furthermore, Chopin argues that society assumes women as feeble and incapable of achieving independence, as shown when Mrs.
Mallard goes upstairs and becomes frightened about her new independence and what lies ahead. When Mrs. Mallard retreats to her own room and looks outside of her window and sees the “new spring life,” a symbol for her freedom from her husband and control over her own life, she realizes that something is coming to her and she is terrified of it and “was striving to beat it back with her will” (Chopin 243). At this moment the notion of freedom from her husband and her marriage grasps her, but she fights it back because she initially believes the commonly held societal view of women, which claims that women cannot succeed alone because they are weak,. It is important to note that Mrs. Mallard overcame this fear and openly embraced her new-found independent life as a result of her strong and independent character. Yet, the fact that a female who desires and fully commits to her independence even questions her ability to succeed shows the prevalence of the notion of women as frail and dependant, to an extent in which females seeking independence succumb to believing it as well. Therefore, by questioning her independence, Mrs. Mallard demonstrates the extent to which society believes that women are weak and incapable of achieving their own independence or enduring without support from others because she initially believed it as
well.
In addition, Chopin affirms the confining nature of marriage through Mrs. Mallard's reflection on her marriage, which suppressed her freedom and made her miserable even though it consisted of love. After coming to the realization that she was “free,” Mrs. Mallard states that after the processional “there would be no one to live for her” and “there would be no powerful will bending hers” (Chopin 244). Having accepted her independence from her husband, she claims that her life did not belong solely to her and her husband's will denies her individual freedom. It is important to note that Mrs. Mallard claims that she loved her husband and he had “never looked save with love upon her” (Chopin 244). This shows that even though she loved her husband and he never wronged her, the marriage required her to give up her independence and become subject to the will of another, which in turn oppressed her and left her desiring her own freedom. Therefore, Chopin, through Mrs. Mallard's marriage, claims that women are forced to give up their independence in marriage, which establishes marriage as faulted and confining in its nature. Furthermore, after reflecting upon her new freedom and independence from the confinements of marriage Mrs. Mallard claims the oppressiveness of marriage. For instance, the narrator claims that before her husband’s death “she had though with a shudder that life might be long” but now “breathes a quick prayer that might be long” (Chopin 244). Mrs. Mallard is oppressed in her marriage to an extent in which she hopes that life is short, but when separated from marriage wishes that life is long. Therefore, even though Mrs. Mallard loves her husband and he had never wronged her, she still wanted life to end quickly prior to his supposed death, therefore asserting that the marriage itself is not oppressive but rather the institution of marriage is oppressive.
Moreover, Chopin avers the negative effects of the confinement of individuality in marriage and the effects of societal belief of weak women when Mrs. Mallard goes downstairs and ultimately passes away after seeing her husband alive. For instance, after spending the majority of the time upstairs and finally accepting and welcoming her new independence, Mrs. Mallard sees her husband and dies “of joy that kills” (Chopin 244). This shows that having been freed from the repressiveness of marriage, Mrs. Mallard is unable to enter marriage again and dies from the shock that her new life was suddenly taken away. Therefore, the oppressiveness of marriage and Mrs. Mallard’s desire to not enter marriage again is a direct cause of her death. Similarly, when Mrs. Mallard goes back downstairs and is faced with the societal preconceptions of woman characterized as weak and unable to flourish alone, she realizes that her individual freedom both from these conceptions disappears once her husband returns, which ultimately causes her death. For instance