analaytical essay of story of an hour
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” represents a negative view of marriage by presenting the reader with a woman who becomes overjoyed that her husband has died. In Chopin's story although the circumstances might lead the reader to believe that Louise's husband's death would cause her to be hysterical with the pain of loss, when she hears the news, she feels a great sense of freedom and relief. The emotions that Louise is exhibiting show that death does not always cause great sadness.* Such situations may include an unhappy marriage, or an abusive relationship, as this story suggests. Kate Chopin uses characterization, symbols, and irony to suggest that in some circumstances the death of a loved one may be a blessing.+
To fully understand the characterization of Louise you must contemplate the conditions of marriage during the time it was written (1894).* Men were the leaders of the household, they made all the decisions, and women just followed along and did as they were told to do. Louise is a complex character. We are initially told that Louise withdraws to her room when the death of her husband is gently revealed to her. The first assumption is of a grief stricken woman who wants to be alone. “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.” (Page 293). However, it becomes clear that she needs to be alone to contemplate not the sadness of the terrible news, but the freeing effect it will have on her. “She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" (Page 294). The reader may sympathize with her reaction, but it is made more complex when it is revealed that her husband was not a truly terrible man, and that she had no real means to wish him dead. “And yet she had loved him sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her
To fully understand the characterization of Louise you must contemplate the conditions of marriage during the time it was written (1894).* Men were the leaders of the household, they made all the decisions, and women just followed along and did as they were told to do. Louise is a complex character. We are initially told that Louise withdraws to her room when the death of her husband is gently revealed to her. The first assumption is of a grief stricken woman who wants to be alone. “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.” (Page 293). However, it becomes clear that she needs to be alone to contemplate not the sadness of the terrible news, but the freeing effect it will have on her. “She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" (Page 294). The reader may sympathize with her reaction, but it is made more complex when it is revealed that her husband was not a truly terrible man, and that she had no real means to wish him dead. “And yet she had loved him sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her