What Is The Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis
The Story of an Hour Analytical Paper Oftentimes in literature’s classic love stories, we tend to see women portrayed as constantly on the search for her true love. Women are characterized as lonely, dependent, and sad individuals, just waiting to be swept away by Prince Charming. One author who puts a twist on this common writing style, however, is Kate Chopin. As a result of being brought up by only women, many of her works include portrayals of women as independent beings with wants and needs. She placed emphasis on women's lives and their struggles to create an identity of their own in the South during the late nineteenth century. A prime example of this writing style is evident within The Story of an Hour, written in 1894. Through the
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A motif can be described as a recurring subject, idea, or feature within a literary work that adds to the overall meaning or purpose of the work. Crying definitely fulfills all of these characteristics. Throughout the majority of the story, we see Louise weeping. At the beginning of the story, Louise sobs dramatically when she learns that her husband has past, even enduring a “storm of grief” (476). She continues weeping when she is alone in her room, although the crying now is unconscious, compared to how “a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (476). She imagines how she will react when she sees him in a coffin, and knows she will cry again. Once the funeral is over in her mind, there is no more mention of crying because she is too busy with the happiness of freedom. Lastly, it says that Josephine, Louise’s sister, exclaims a “piercing cry” (477) at the collapsing of Louise when she sees her husband. Crying represents oppression and the sadness that goes along with it. In times when there was no crying, Louise experiences an enlightening sense of independence. Through the fusion of the themes of oppressive marriage and the forbidden joy of independence, the symbolisms of heart trouble and the open window, and the motif of crying, the author creates an artful story. The Story of an Hour reflects Chopin’s view of the oppressive role that marriage plays in Louise’s life, who feels freedom only after her husband has died. Only when he dies does her life become her own. Chopin is known for addressing feminist issues like this one many years before the feminist movement began. It is no wonder that Chopin is widely accepted today as one of America’s most essential
A motif can be described as a recurring subject, idea, or feature within a literary work that adds to the overall meaning or purpose of the work. Crying definitely fulfills all of these characteristics. Throughout the majority of the story, we see Louise weeping. At the beginning of the story, Louise sobs dramatically when she learns that her husband has past, even enduring a “storm of grief” (476). She continues weeping when she is alone in her room, although the crying now is unconscious, compared to how “a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (476). She imagines how she will react when she sees him in a coffin, and knows she will cry again. Once the funeral is over in her mind, there is no more mention of crying because she is too busy with the happiness of freedom. Lastly, it says that Josephine, Louise’s sister, exclaims a “piercing cry” (477) at the collapsing of Louise when she sees her husband. Crying represents oppression and the sadness that goes along with it. In times when there was no crying, Louise experiences an enlightening sense of independence. Through the fusion of the themes of oppressive marriage and the forbidden joy of independence, the symbolisms of heart trouble and the open window, and the motif of crying, the author creates an artful story. The Story of an Hour reflects Chopin’s view of the oppressive role that marriage plays in Louise’s life, who feels freedom only after her husband has died. Only when he dies does her life become her own. Chopin is known for addressing feminist issues like this one many years before the feminist movement began. It is no wonder that Chopin is widely accepted today as one of America’s most essential