“The Story of an Hour” Analysis

Famous Kate Chopin`s “The Story of an Hour” is a well-written masterpiece combining various symbols and literary techniques. These techniques enable the author to develop different important themes in a comparatively short story with brilliance. “The Story of an Hour” is considered a feminist literary quality essay, which was written at a time when women had less freedom in comparison with their men. The author focuses on the themes of female self-identity, unhappy marriage, and death.

At the time when the story was written, marriage was a particularly strong structure and only the death of one of the spouses could break it. Meeting social expectations, a woman could not choose the path in life on her own. At first, she had to act in accordance with her parents` order and then follow her husband`s will. No wonder that at the end of the 19th century, women did not fully realize the essence of freedom. The story begins when Mrs. Mallard learns about the terrible railway accident that took the life of her husband. When learning about her husband`s death, Louise Mallard showed a spectrum of various emotions. However, when she was left alone in her room, Ms. Mallard realized that a huge world of multiple opportunities was opened before her eyes. “She said it over and over under her breath: “Free, free, free!” In this short story, freedom is shown as an overwhelming force and Louise cannot resist it. This freedom had to bring harmony to her life. Perhaps, previously, she did not even imagine how great this feeling was.

Louise is certain that her new life will be very bright and colorful just like the images in the window. At the same time, it cannot be said that Louise`s marriage was disastrous. Perhaps, her husband even loved her but at that lime, love did not equal freedom. Chopin emphasizes that the marriage where one spouse has more control over another can make it harder for a man and a woman to love each other because even though Louise has feelings for her husband, her desire for freedom is stronger. Obviously, Louise loved her husband only because she was obliged to do that.

In accordance with social beliefs, women could not be strong both physically and emotionally. Thus, Richard and Josephine, people, who had to inform Mrs. Mallard about the accident, tried to overprotect her and stifle her emotions. They talked to Louise “in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” No wonder that whenever Louise demonstrates her strong reaction to this terrible news “with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance”, it goes beyond society`s sexist expectations. One can think that Louise wanted to stay alone with her grief and handle her own emotions. However, this desire was a clear demonstration of her inclination towards independence and freedom. At first, Mrs. Mallard is afraid of her thoughts about potential freedom and joy in her heart. However, observing the surrounding world through the “open window,” Louise Mallard realizes that the lack of restrictions would allow her to have a new life. Louise dared to dream and was strictly punished for that.

In order to make her message clearer, Kate Chopin uses symbolism, similes, and imagery. As such, she introduces the elements of spring, the time, when nature awakens from the long dream. As well as nature, Mrs. Mallard realizes that this accident became a turning point in her life. At the same time, Chopin does not claim that the woman is happy because of the death of her husband. The author masterfully uses hints such as “patches of blue sky,” “delicious breath of rain,” “open window,” and many others so that the reader can understand the elation and euphoria of the protagonist.

“The open window symbolizes the step into a new dimension or life sphere”. It also symbolizes the freedom that Louise would have without the duty to obey her husband.

Analyzing the writing style of Kate Chopin, Laura McClelland states that “The Story of an Hour” is an excellent example of the idea that you don’t need to be wordy to get your message across”. Kate Chopin managed to masterfully show the events of one hour that was full of hope, happiness, and destruction. In particular, this short story makes a successful attempt to criticize the stability of marriage discussing the power imbalance in a family. At the same time, “The Story of an Hour” cannot be interpreted as just an anti-marriage piece. It is more about the woman`s search for identity. When Louise learned that her husband was alive, her heart stopped. Ironically, but the doctors decided that Mrs. Mallard`s heart could not cope with sudden happiness. The theme of death is discussed by Chopin from different perspectives. As such, although death is always sad, for Mrs. Mallard it promises the escape from daunting family life to her freedom and identity. At the same time, the death of Mrs. Mallard is mentioned in one sentence, whereas the death of Mr. Mallard, as well as its perception by different people, is discussed in the whole story.

In conclusion, it should be said that Kate Chopin`s “The Story of an Hour” discusses a particularly important problem of the edge of the 19th century analyzing the delicate and passive role of a woman, who could not act out of her own will but had to fit the social expectations. Chopin discusses the topics of self-fulfillment, selfhood, love, and the identity of a woman, which became a clear representation of her feminist views. Unfortunately, the story written at the end of the 19th century is still relevant today. Many women still live their lives in unhappy families being deprived of freedom and the ways for realization.