An Hour Symbolism

In Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour, we see Mrs. Mallard trying to come to terms with her husband’s death, her short lived liberation, as well as her untimely death upon her husband’s return from the deceased all within an hour. Mrs. Mallard is a woman who is ruled by patriarchy as wells as someone who has never worked a day in her life. Throughout this short story we are given a variety of symbolism such as the renewal of life or being set free like the sparrow. Class status is also a significant aspect of the story.
One such instance is Ms. Mallard being treated as a child instead of an adult female. “…heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death…broken sentences; veiled hints …show more content…
“…before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life...breath of rain was in the air…singing reached her…countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves” (Chopin 647). Mr. Mallard’s death occurred during the time associated with the renewal of life. A time where the barren winter is left behind for spring to progress and bring forth life once more. Her window faces the same way the sun rises, meanwhile the sky is cloudy with a chance of rain. The sun signifies a new day. Each day the sun rises and sets, here her new life will rise while her previous one will set. The sky being cloudy can allude to Mrs. Mallard’s feelings of her husband’s death. The promise of rain, however, can vary. It can stand for the sorrow she is feeling, or it can mean with the promise of rain it will wash away all that is bad as well as her give her he opportunity to start anew. The imagery of the sparrow is signifying her freedom. Birds are generally born free. They do not live in a cage the way Mrs. Mallard’s marriage is to her. Birds can fly and go wherever they please, Mrs. Mallard cannot.
We can infer Mrs. Mallard is of a mid to high social status who married young with the following “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength...two white slender hands…And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not” …show more content…
For Mrs. Mallard her identity depends on her husband. Her name throughout the story is only briefly mentioned twice. Both instances by her sister Josephine whose last name is never mentioned. Neither is Richard’s. Josephine only mentions Mrs. Mallard’s first name when no one else is around and when she is imploring her sister Louise to open the locked bedroom door. For example “Louise, open the door! ...What are you doing Louise?” (Chopin 648). Josephine believed her sister would be ill due to grief of losing her husband and was worried about her. Mrs. Mallard however was fine as her epiphany set in for once in her life she would finally be “‘Free! Body and Soul free!’” (Chopin